• About

    Margaret Connolly has been a literary agent for more than twenty years, after giving up a career as a lawyer in the mid-1980s.

    She set up her own business in 1992, and since then has developed a client list which resembles a roll-call of Australia's finest novelists, poets, dramatists, non-fiction authors, film-makers, children's writers and illustrators.

    She works from home, on a desk which is covered with papers and one very useful computer.

    The "Associates" in her company's title consist of her husband, three children and a dog named Arthur.




    • Fiction

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    Kathleen Stewart: Men of Bad Character

    Monday, March 15th, 2010

    From the acclaimed author of The After Life comes a compelling novel about modern love and dangerous liaisons. When Rose’s eighteen year relationship ends in the most shocking and unexpected way, she emerges from years of what she thought was love and realises the extent to which she was being emotionally manipulated and controlled. While [...]

    ‘A Great Write Hope in the City of Sharks’

    Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

    The Tower by Michael Duffy (Allen & Unwin, $29.99). Reviewed by Winsor DobbinSydney Sun-Herald For a nation that is obsessed by crime stories and whose denizens avidly devour thrillers written by overseas authors – largely British and American – Australia has surprisingly few top-notch writers of the genre. Despite this being his debut novel, Michael [...]

    Laura Bloom: In the Mood

    Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

    ANZ rights in Laura Bloom’s new novel, In the Mood, have just been sold to Penguin Australia. Executive Editor Rachel Scully describes it as a novel which is ‘compelling and heart-wrenching’ and ‘explores so many dilemmas facing women of today’. Penguin plan to publish in 2010. Home was her, Catherine, in her blue cotton dress, [...]

    Kudos for Susan Johnson’s
    Life in Seven Mistakes

    Saturday, January 17th, 2009

    Susan Johnson’s wonderful novel, Life in Seven Mistakes, has been named in the Australian Financial Review Magazine as one of the best books of 2008, and in the ‘Big Issue’ as the ’2008 standout’ book, with Jo Case saying: This sparkling satire captures a changing Australia through the prism of one dysfunctional family. It opens [...]

    Jonathan Harlen: Dangerous Games

    Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

    The UK cover for Jonathan Harlen’s novel for children, Dangerous Games, which is to be published by A&C Black in 2009.                        

    Rachael Treasure: The Dare

    Thursday, December 4th, 2008

    The UK cover for Rachael Treasure’s The Dare (Australian title is The Rouseabout), which is to be published next April by Preface. From the cover notes: Discover one of Australia’s best-loved writers ‘Kate felt her skin prickle. The glow of the night suddenly faded. She felt the coldness of her mother’s death creeping up on [...]

    Nicolas Rothwell: The Red Highway

    Thursday, November 27th, 2008

    The cover of Nicolas Rothwell’s The Red Highway, which Black Inc will publish next May. The beautiful cover image is the painting Near Ruined City, by Angelina George. From the cover notes: A key to unlock the heart of the country This is the story of a quest — a journey down the red highway. [...]

    Anne Harvey: Travelling with the Duke

    Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

    The first version of the cover of Anne Harvey’s novel, Travelling with the Duke, which is to be published by Random House Australia next March She certainly hasn’t confided in her daughter, Anna, who would only try to stop her. With her Italian dictionary and grammar book and a portrait of the Duke of Montefeltro [...]

    Catherine Jinks: Babylonne

    Monday, October 13th, 2008

    The fifth title in Catherine Jinks’s internationally successful Pagan series, Babylonne (titled Pagan’s Daughter in Australia) is to be published in the USA by Candlewick Press in November. Here is a good first review, from Booklist, by the respected Michael Cart: Jinks continues her cycle of excellent historical novels. In this fifth volume, she introduces [...]

    Life in Seven Mistakes gets another great review

    Friday, September 19th, 2008

    Another great review for Susan Johnson’s Life in Seven Mistakes: Nicole Lindsay, in the lead review in the The Herald Sun calls it ‘a rare gem: a novel about modern family life that keeps the pages turning and makes you think at the same time’: Susan Johnson’s beautifully structured novel poses many almost unanswerable questions [...]

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