The Team
After graduating from Colgate University Andrea Barzvi went on to study law at Cardozo Law School where her passion for the entertainment industry began to deepen. When forced with a game-time decision to choose between pursuing a career as a criminal defense attorney or becoming an agent, she smartly chose the latter. Born and raised in New York City, her first job in publishing was as an agent at ICM Partners where she stayed for 14 years before starting her own agency in November 2013, which she aptly named Empire Literary given her strong roots to the city as well as her successful track record of helping her authors build their empires. With over 30 New York Times bestsellers on her list, she continues to secure major deals on behalf of her authors. Some of the projects she’s represented are New York Times Bestsellers He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, the This Man trilogy by Jodi Ellen Malpas, Body Reset Diet by Harley Pasternak, Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels, G-Free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Fortytude by Sarah Brokaw, The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan, The Hunger Fix by Dr. Pam Peeke, Here’s The Deal: Don’t Touch Me by Howie Mandel as well as Ilana Wiles, the creator of the Mommy Shorts blog, Lexi Kornblum of Lexi’s Clean Kitchen and Jen Widerstrom, the co-host of The Biggest Loser among many others.
Andrea represents projects that look to make a difference in people’s lives and is always looking for fresh new voices as well established authors.
Kristyn Keene Benton began her publishing career in 2006 at ICM, where she had the great fortune of learning from some of the best in the business. After nearly two decades as an agent at ICM and CAA, she was ready for a place where she could build something truly her own with a boutique approach to representation, which brought her to Empire Literary in 2026.
What drives Kristyn's work is a genuine love for the editorial process and an equally fierce commitment to advocacy – she loves helping writers shape their books into the best versions they can be, and advocates fiercely on their behalf from the first conversation through a successful publication, across many books and many years.
Her list includes many New York Times bestselling authors and prize winners — recipients of the PEN America Award, Southern Book Prize, and the National Book Award's "5 Under 35" — as well as multiple authors featured in Reese Witherspoon's Book Club, Read with Jenna, GMA and Belletrist book clubs.
Kristyn grew up in Connecticut and studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara before completing the Columbia Publishing Course.
What she's looking for:
Kristyn is actively acquiring commercial fiction and nonfiction. With a particular love for book club fiction and stories anchored by complex female relationships, she's drawn to novels about family, class, and identity, and the tough choices we often have to make in life, as well as voicey character-driven narratives, love stories with high emotional stakes (doesn’t have to be first loves), and generally fiction that balances warmth with depth. She'd especially love to find a new novel with great emotional momentum that would earn a spot on every beach chair.
On the nonfiction side, she represents memoir, essay collections, nature writing, and prescriptive nonfiction. She's always looking for powerful female voices and experts who have something to say that move a social conversation forward— writers who are deeply embedded in their subject and bring a distinct point of view to a wider discussion. She has developed a passion for nature writing and is always looking for more. She also represents very select cookbooks and children's picture books, sparked from a love of cooking at home and reading to her children.
Sandy Hodgman is Empire’s Director of Foreign Rights and has worked in publishing for almost two decades before launching her own international rights agency in 2015. She is dedicated to finding each author the best publishers around the world, ensuring a truly global publishing career. She has worked with authors including Madeleine Albright, Ree Drummond, Mireille Guiliano, Gregory Maguire, Rafael Nadal, Ruth Reichl, Jeremy Rifkin, Ilana Wiles (aka Mommy Shorts), Jen Widerstrom among many others. Sandy is a fixture at the London Book Fair, BookExpo America, and the Frankfurt Book Fair and travels overseas to maintain relationships and promote her titles throughout the year. She is a member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR).