David Vigliano

David Vigliano
Born David Vigliano
June 18, 1959
New York, New York, US
Residence New York, New York, US
Alma mater Hunter College
Harvard University Business School
Occupation Literary agent, Entrepreneur
Website
agivigliano.com/.com

David Vigliano is an American literary agent. He is the head of AGI Vigliano Literary LLC, which was formed in 2014 when Y Entertainment bought the boutique firm he founded, Vigliano Associates. Vigliano is best known for working with "headline-making" authors and for negotiating record-setting advances. Since 2002, 80 of his projects have appeared on the New York Times best seller list, with 15 hitting the #1 position.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life and education

Vigliano was born in New York. His mother, Barbara Murphy Vigliano, was an actress who starred in live television shows in the 1940s. He attended Hunter College, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in communications, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1983.[6]

Career

Following college, Vigliano returned to New York, where he was hired as the Director of Packaging at Warner Books. There, Vigliano moved beyond the traditional practice of passively acquiring new properties, and instead generated book ideas and pursued new authors. In 1986, with no experience as a literary agent, he founded Vigliano Associates.[7][1]

While he represents both fiction and non-fiction, Vigliano has received significant attention for securing substantial advances for celebrities, including a reported $4,000,000 advance for Kurt Cobain's journals in 2000.[8] His notable clients have included Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Mike Tyson, Shaquille O'Neal, Willie Nelson, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, David Blaine, Prince, Pearl Jam, Scott Weiland, Rocco DiSpirito, Courtney Love, Anthony Kiedis, Suzanne Somers, and Pope John Paul II. His roster also includes Bob Greene, Melody Beattie, Nicholas Perricone, Jerry Jenkins, Ben Parr, and Blake Mycoskie. Vigliano's literary projects include artist James Rosenquist’s autobiography, Eddie Little’s Another Day in Paradise, and Douglas Coupland’s Generation X, which sold more than 1,000,000 copies.[9][10]

Vigliano has negotiated film rights for several of his books. Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down the House, was the source material for MGM's 21,[11] and The Oldest Rookie, by Jim Morris and Joe Engel,[12] was adapted into the Disney movie The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid. An article by Mike Sager in GQ was adapted into the Touchstone film Veronica Guerin, starring Cate Blanchett.[3]

In 2012, he started Vigliano Books, an electronic book publishing venture that has worked with authors such as Tim Cowlishaw, Richard Belzer, David Blaine, Linda Davies, and Jerry B. Jenkins.

Personal life

Vigliano lives in New York City. He has performed as a stand-up comic at clubs in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York.[1]

External links

AGI Vigliano Literary LLC

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "City File on David Vigliano". February 3, 2008. Gawker. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  2. ↑ David, Anna. "The Celebrity Book Frenzy". July 17, 2010. The Daily Beast. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Weeks, Linton. "The Vig: Wheel Behind The Deal". June 4, 2003. Washington Post. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  4. ↑ Kolhatkar, Sheila. "Hey, Victim, Want a Book Deal?". April 24, 2006. New York Observer. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Kelly, Keith J. (October 29, 2014). "Vigliano selling agency to Y Entertainment". New York Post. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Singer, Jill. "PITCHING AN AGENT: VIGLIANO ASSOCIATES". August 17, 2004. Media Bistro. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  7. ↑ "David Vigliano Agent info". 2014. Smashwords. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  8. ↑ Patterson, Tom. "His Last Writes". November 15, 2002. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  9. ↑ Variety Staff. "‘Generation X’ author turns to Pantheon". December 1, 1998. Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  10. ↑ Hagan, Joe. "The Blair Pitch Project". May 26, 2003. The Observer. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Fleming, Michael. "Trigger Street bets on the ‘House’". September 19, 2002. Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  12. ↑ "Hot Deals". December 20, 1999. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 9 February 2014.