What We Believe
It used to be that writers had editors to watch their backs, but over the past century the literary agent has risen to stand by the writer, to help them birth their literary works, to polish them until they are ready for submission, and to help authors find the best publishing homes – eventually leading their works to widespread markets and audiences.
This is what we do at TRF. Whether you are a debut author just finishing your first novel, an expert, teacher or journalist working on a narrative non-fiction or prescriptive work, someone with a memoir or great life story to tell, or a graphic novelist, we’re interested in hearing from you – if you haven’t heard from us first.
Every agent at TRF is looking for work they can get excited about, in every genre and category. If you’re in the market, we encourage you to look at the agents here and see if one of them seems like the perfect business partner for you.
Film & TV
A strong story in book form is the perfect – and most common – raw material for film and TV adaptation. Selling great stories into other media is something we explore actively, with close ties to film and TV agents across the entertainment landscape, locally and internationally.
Origins
The Rights Factory was founded in 2004 with a handful of clients and a massive search for new talent in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. We now have nine different agents and represent hundreds of clients from around the world.
Editorial Feedback
We are an editorial agency and we will be tough on your work, because we are committed to developing your project until it is absolutely ready to take to market. Along the way, we will champion you across the industry and media and make sure what you wrote is seen by the best editors, and we will provide you with professional insight to help your project become the best book it can be, for the audience that will love it.
About Us
Staff
Sam Hiyate
President
Since 1990 Sam has worked at literary magazines, small presses and with New York Times bestselling authors, editing and representing everything from debut fiction, memoir and narrative non-fiction to graphic novels. He has taught writing and publishing privately since 2000 and also at various universities. His most recent project is an online magazine, Don’t Talk to Me About Love, exploring love in literary and artistic works.
Anne Sampson
Brand Manager
Anne was previously a Digital Marketing Content Creator at Schmooz Media, a Publicist at PRH Canada, and a former assistant at The Rights Factory.
Amanda Sun
Editorial Associate
Amanda Sun is a writer and editor based in the GTA. Her novels have been published in several languages around the world and her short fiction has been included in several award-winning anthologies. She has a BA in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from UBC and a Publishing Certificate from Ryerson, which go together surprisingly well when writing, editing, or leading a worldbuilding workshop. She has a particular interest in Young Adult, Middle Grade, speculative fiction, and diverse voices.
Celina Fazio
Editorial and Film/TV Assistant
Celina is a writer and editor living in Toronto. After completing an undergraduate degree in English Literature and a certificate in Publishing, she confirmed her own suspicions that her heart belongs to books and storytelling.
She joins The Rights Factory as an assistant, her love of books in one hand and her love of film in the other. With a specific interest in genre-bending narratives, dark humour, and horror, Celina finds inspiration in all things strange.
Amy Currie
Editorial Assistant
Originally hailing from the East Coast, Amy is now a Toronto-based freelance editor and creative writer. She is currently an undergraduate student majoring in English and minoring in Peace and Conflict Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University.
She recently started the Creative Writing program at the U of T SCS and is enjoying learning the ins and outs of the world of writing. After spending thirteen years serving as a medic in the Canadian Armed Forces, she decided on a career transition to editing and hasn’t looked back.
Madelaine Fortier
Editorial Assistant
Madelaine is a Publishing Masters graduate pursuing a lifelong dream in agency. She can normally be found engrossed in translated fiction and spending much of her time on BookTwitter. When not reading online works, she enjoys Ghibli films and is constantly surrounded by many, many cups of green tea.
Claire Cavanagh
Editorial Assistant
Originally from Ireland, Claire moved to Canada in 2017. She will be receiving her Masters in Publishing from Simon Fraser University this summer. For her placement, she moved to Newfoundland to work with a network of publishers first in foreign rights’ sales and later as a sales coordinator. She previously worked in academia and received a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Southampton. She is interested in a range of non-fiction topics including accessible academic subjects, historical and cultural, and memoir/biography. With fiction, she is always open to stories from women which centre their experiences.
Gillian Collins
Editorial Assistant
Gillian is currently completing an Hons B.A. in English with a minor in Creative Writing at the University of Guelph. She was encouraged by Professor Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negros, to pursue her love for books and the publishing industry. Gillian was able to obtain a position as an editorial and website assistant at The Rights Factory and is currently working alongside their incredible team.
Her love for literature began at a young age when she began exploring the Fantasy genre. She spends most of her evening reading anything from YA to Adult Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Historical Fiction. She hopes to be able to grow her career in the publishing field while continuing to write her own novels.
Sophie Rutledge
Editorial and Social Media Assistant
Sophie is currently completing a Post-Diploma Certificate in Publishing at Centennial College and graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Linguistics in the spring of 2021. During her placement at The Rights Factory, she is excited to hone her skills in social media marketing.
Sophie loves books, especially in the horror genre, and spends her time off reading, cuddled up with her two pet rabbits.
Samantha McTernan
Editorial and Agency Assistant
Samantha is currently enrolled in Centennial College’s Publishing program, and will be graduating this spring. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience & Mental Health Studies, and a postgraduate degree in Autism and Behavioral sciences. After working in the healthcare field for a few years she decided to venture into the world of publishing. She is primarily interested in non-fiction, specifically relating to the sciences, and memoirs/biographies that center around the diverse human experience. When not reading you can find her in a ballet studio.
Rystana Petrovsky
Editorial Assistant
Rystana is a new editorial assistant at The Rights Factory! She is a freelance copy editor & writer of poetry and prose, based in Toronto, Canada. She is wrapping up her studies in the Publishing program at Centennial College. She has an English BA at Ryerson University, with a French Minor. She reads anything from Comic Books to YA, satirical historic fiction to romance novels. When she’s not busy falling in love with new and old books alike, she can be found cycling around the city or rock climbing at her local gym. She has travelled to Europe and back and cannot stop talking about it. A huge trivia nerd, she never misses an episode of Jeopardy.
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