Alia Hanna Habib: Literary Agent with Local Ties to Read at LitFest on June 25

Before New York Magazine named her to a list of "The 49 Most Powerful New Yorkers You've Never Heard Of," Alia Hanna Habib was a student at Myers High School in Wilkes-Barre, curating a love for words in Mrs. Barbara Chamberlain's English class.

Now the vice president and literary agent at the Gernert Company is returning to northeastern Pennsylvania. Habib will close out LitFest, sponsored by Wilkes University's Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing, with publishing industry insights and her book, Take It From Me: An Agent's Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career From Scratch.

"I always knew I would do something with books," says Habib, though as a high schooler, she didn't imagine a career as a literary agent. Habib excelled in English class and cross-registered for classes at Wilkes to access humanities courses that were in short supply at her high school.

After graduation, Habib attended Barnard College in New York City. The liberal arts college strengthened her passion for words. "I knew I wanted to do something literary," says Habib. "I probably thought I was going to be a writer." Instead, her post-graduation job hunt led her to a classified ad for a publicity assistant at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Habib focused on publicity before she decided to earn her master's degree in English literature at Rutgers University. She spent time in Italy before returning to New York and her publicity career. Surrounded by books and writers, Habib still felt that something was missing. When an industry contact suggested that the work of an agent might fit the bill, Habib did some research and landed a commission-only agent spot at McCormick Literary.

In 2017, Habib transitioned to the Gernert Company, where she has built a stellar career representing New York Times bestselling authors and award-winning writers.

"I think I was born to do this job," Habib says, though she does want to dispel the notion that life as a literary agent is all glitz and glamour. "I do go to lunches and parties, but the bulk of my day is solving authors' problems," says Habib. "It's a lot of problem-solving." In the course of a day, she might review an unsolicited submission, settle a disagreement between co-authors, help a writer with edits, talk to an author who doesn't like a book cover design or reach out for a status update on a late manuscript.

"You can never predict what the day is going to look like. It's often hard, but it's never boring. I feel intellectually alive all day," says Habib. "My job drives me crazy, but it's because I love it so much. I really care about my clients. I really care about books."

Habib has taken her care - and industry knowledge - and put it in the pages of her book, Take It From Me: An Agent's Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career From Scratch. The book shares insights from Habib's time in the publishing industry, starting as an outsider and working her way up to vice president.

"It's a guide for everything you need to know if you want to be a nonfiction writer, from insiders ranging from agents like me to editors to very successful writers, wisdom pulled from all over the industry," says Habib. "It's written in a narrative, accessible way and hopefully with a lot of humor, honesty and empathy."

Habib looks forward to returning to the area to offer her wisdom to others who love the written word, and the opportunity came up courtesy of an invite from a member of the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing. The low-residency program has earned good buzz in publishing circles in New York City, so it was already on Habib's radar. When Ibrahim Ahmad, executive editor at Viking Press and a long-time program partner of the creative writing program, suggested she get involved, Habib felt it was a great time for a hometown visit.

Habib will join visiting writers Jamal Hodges, Hester Kaplan and Sophfronia Scott to close out this summer's LitFest. Until then, she's happy to offer solid advice for any writer: "Read. Read in your category. Know about contemporary writing, read literary magazines. You should be reading twice as much as you write."

LitFest Featured Readings
7 p.m. | Thursday, June 25
Fenner Quadrangle at Wilkes University
Free and open to the public