Deborah Rogers

Deborah Jane Coltman Rogers, Baroness Berkeley of Knighton (6 April 1938 – 30 April 2014) was a British literary agent, who founded her own agency in 1967.

The Right Honourable The Lady Berkeley of Knighton
Born	Deborah Jane Coltman Rogers (1938-04-06)6 April 1938 London, England
Died	30 April 2014(2014-04-30) (aged 76)
Occupation	Literary agent
Spouse	Michael Berkeley
Children	1
Awards	Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing at the London Book Fair

Biography

Born at her parents' London home in Thurloe Square, South Kensington, Rogers was one of six children;^[1] her mother Stella Moore was an actress, while her father worked in the City of London. She attended Hatherop Castle School in Gloucestershire, but did not go to university.^[2]

Her agency, originally Deborah Rogers Ltd, was established in 1967. Pat White soon joined, and the two women were joined by a third partner, Gill Coleridge, two decades later.^[3] At the end of her life, Rogers was the chairman of Rogers, Coleridge and White.^[4]

Among the authors Rogers represented were A. S. Byatt, Ian McEwan and Peter Carey.^[5] Earlier in her career, she had represented Angela Carter, and (before he joined Andrew Wylie's agency) Salman Rushdie.^[2] Shortly after the professional breach, Rogers offered Rushdie her second home as a refuge from the fatwā (death sentence) imposed by Ayatollah Khomeini in February 1989.^[6] The remote farm in Powys was used by Rushdie during his decade in hiding.^[7]

Rogers was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing at the London Book Fair in April 2014.^[8] The award was presented by another of her clients, Kazuo Ishiguro,^[9] who had been introduced to Rogers by Angela Carter.^[10] Ishiguro said of Rogers that "she taught me to be a writer".^[11]

Rogers married the composer Michael Berkeley in 1979;^[12] the couple had an adopted daughter.^[13] Rogers died from a heart attack in 2014, aged 76.^[14]