About

Deborah Rogers

A literary agent all her professional life, Deborah Rogers (1938-2014) set up her own agency in 1967, and twenty years later formed Rogers Coleridge & White with Gill Coleridge and Pat White. One of the most influential literary agents of her generation, Deborah was renowned for her taste, her loyalty and her immense generosity in the support she gave to authors. At the 2014 London Book Fair, Deborah was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing, the first agent to have received the honour. Her sudden death a few weeks later sent a shockwave through the world of publishing and the many writers, publishers and agents whose lives she had touched.

Deborah’s particular genius lay in identifying and supporting talented young people. The Deborah Rogers Foundation (DRF) was therefore set up in her memory to continue to seek out and support emerging talent in the publishing world specifically by means of two biennial awards:

  • The Writers Award which gives £10,000 to an unpublished writer to enable them to complete a first book, and 
  • The David Miller Bursary which is being re-focused in 2022 to become The David Miller Internship Programme. This will offer two entry level, paid internships to rights and agenting, partnering with Creative Access to search for candidates from groups who are under-represented in the sector gain
    international work experience.

The Board chaired by Lord Berkeley of Knighton, Deborah’s widower, comprises people who knew and loved Deborah, including RCW colleagues, writers and friends from the publishing world.

For more information about these awards please go to the Writers Award page or the David Miller Internship Programme page.
 

News



Submissions for the DRF 2023 Writers Award can be made between 1st January 2023 until 31st March 2023.
The 2023 DRF Writers Award will open for submissions on 1st January 2023 and close on 31st March.
Two paid internships providing an entry level insight into rights and agenting in publishing. Focus on attracting candidates from communities under-represented in the industry. Interviews in early July, placements in September for 6 weeks.
Mathelinda Nabugodi wins the 2021 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award. Runners-up are Yasmine Awwad and Sophie Meadows. Judges were Colm Tóibín, Deepa Anappara, Anna James and Ingrid Persaud. The winner receives £10,000. Runners-up each receive £1,000
It is with regret that we are announcing that the 2021 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award will be moving to a virtual format this year, meaning that the in-person event scheduled at The Amadeus in London is now cancelled.
Judges Colm Tóibín, Deepa Anappara, Anna James and Ingrid Persaud announce the shortlist for the 2021 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award