SUNDAY SELFIE SERIES #64

Laura Nolan

SUNDAY SELFIE SERIES #64: The beautiful Laura Nolan.

I met Laura in 2013. I had started to write “Blood,” and my then manager, the great Danny Goldberg, introduced us. Though I was very nervous to do so, I showed her some very early pages. She liked them enough to become my literary agent and since then we’ve never looked back. Laura has not only helped guide my writing — she has been a fierce advocate for it and me — she has also become a trusted, truly great friend who I know I can depend on. She’s just that sort of person.

I had to laugh when I read a few of her answers to these questions, especially the part about her feeling dumb all the time. While I certainly identify with that feeling (I’m always trying to catch up and know I never will — there is so much to know!), I have to tell you that Laura is one of the smartest people in my life — she is of uncommonly high intelligence and has a quick and nimble mind — when we get together and start talking it always feels as if we never have enough time to cover everything we wish we could and our sentences run together with no beginnings and no endings. I extend deep gratitude to her for the time and energy she puts into her work — for I would not be where I am now if not for that and her faith in me as a writer. Plus, we have a really good time when we get together — I not only love her, I like her.

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1. What has humbled you more than anything else?

I could say having children – I have two teenagers ages 16 and 14 and being present for them is both rewarding and exhausting. But if I am completely honest, my career as a literary agent has humbled me more. I have the honor of working with the some of the smartest people I’ve ever met either as clients, as publishers or as colleagues. I’m in awe of how brilliant, intellectually curious, and incredibly well-read this community is, and I’m pushed daily to expand my knowledge base. I always feel dumb.

2. Do you feel like you’ve gotten a good education?

I am still getting an education. Due to the nature of my work, I’m forced to read in areas I never would have explored before. I’m constantly thinking about culture, “big ideas,” current events, what readers may want to read in two years, what questions they’re going to ask that a book will answer. I also learn through my clients who are experts in their fields. To bring their work to a publisher, I need to spend time in their world to help them articulate what they care about and want to convey to the reader. Every client provides a mini education for me, which is why I do this job. Although I got a BA in English and Rhetoric and attended graduate school, 99% of my education came from outside reading that I continue to do.

3. Do you believe that forgiveness benefits the forgiver or the transgressor?

I believe forgiveness definitely benefits both, but in my mind it benefits the forgiver far more than the transgressor. Maybe I’m cynical, but I think there are a lot of people who live a life of exceptionalism – the pandemic really brought that out – and transgressors can easily justify their actions. It makes me sad to think this, but I think it’s true. The forgiver, on the other hand, has to do the hard work of letting go of the anger and frustration. It’s very easy to be fueled by fury, but it’s also exhausting. To truly let go and forgive is an incredible skill and although I hate the work more than anything, I’m always grateful in the end to just forgive and move on.

4. What is your proudest accomplishment?

I’m the proudest of my marriage and my children. I married my best friend and intellectual partner and for the past 18 years, we’ve had a lot of fun together. He has a great sense of humor, so we’re always laughing. I have two kids who I’m watching become terrific young adults, not solely due to our parenting, but to the NYC environment in which they are being raised. I’ve been in awe of how in the past 18 months, the two of them have become very politically aware (I didn’t know the names of our local city council members as a teenager). I think this has a lot to do to the state of the world right now and the power of Gen Z as much as our parenting, but I’ll be relieved and proud to have them (and their friends) take the helm in a few years.

5. How would you like to live out your golden years?

With my husband and constantly learning. The rest will figure itself out.

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