He’ll be deluged with manuscript by day’s end, just so you know

But then again, this is just very, very cool news, as reported early this morning on Duane Swierczynski’s Secret Dead Blog:

Meet Al Guthrie, literary agent.

Yep,

that’s the same Al Guthrie who’s already been lauded as one of the

shining stars of noir, both here and in the UK. The same Al Guthrie

who’s an editor for cult fiction imprint PointBlank Press. The same Al

Guthrie who portrayed Arthur Dent in the most recent adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. (At least, we think it looked like him.)

But it’s true: Al has joined the prestigious Jenny Brown Associates.

Guthrie then explains what kind of work he’s looking for, which should surprise absolutely no one who’s read his novels or what people send him to Noir Originals:

Secret Dead Blog: Why did you want to become a literary agent?

AG: Writers of dark material tend to get short shrift from

agents, on a content basis alone. Happened to me enough times, and I

know many other authors who’ve had the same experience. I think those

agents are missing a trick. Crime fiction is expanding, and nowhere

faster than the darker, harder-hitting variety. Dark crime fiction is,

as you know, a particular area of interest (some might say, obsession)

of mine. What with my editorial and writing experience, and my

inability to shut up about books I love, along with my view that

hard-edged crime fiction is about to blossom (it already is, it’s just

cleverly disguised), becoming an agent seems to make a lot of sense.

Whether I’ll be any good at it is another matter entirely, of course,

but I’m delighted Jenny Brown Associates have given me the opportunity.

It’s very, very exciting.

SDB: What kind of clients are you looking for?

AG:

Stunningly gifted writers of intelligent dark/comic

crime/literary/thrillers (and if they can write great flap copy, even

better).

Now it’s official: Mr Guthrie is his very own empire. Hail the new crime chief.