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.
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.
Sophie Rutledge
Social Media Associate
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.
Amanda Lang
Editorial Assistant
Amanda Lang is a first year MFA candidate at the New School with a love of monster stories and any fiction that transports her to a new world. Amanda has a background in freelance journalism and is a writer herself as well as an avid fiction reader. Amanda will be working with agent Natalie Kimber starting in January 2023.
Maria Luigia Donati
Editorial Assistant
Maria is from Lucca, Tuscany, joined The Rights Factory as a Rights assistant in September, and is now an editorial assistant.
Maria has a background in Law and gained a Master in Storytelling and Publishing from "Scuola Holden" in Turin, Italy.
She worked as a marketing strategist and copywriter for Italian book publishers. She loves books and is interested in learning more about graphic novels. Her favorite book is "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Mariapia Torre
Editorial Assistant
Mariapia is from Calabria, Italy, but lived in Milan for five years before moving to Toronto. In Milan, she majored in Liberal Studies in Communication and interned as editorial assistant, social media manager, copyeditor, and proofreader for two widely different publishing companies. She is currently a Publishing student at Centennial College. Mariapia loves a variety of genres and can’t pick her favourite book to save her life.
Teagan Sliz
Editorial Assistant
Teagan is a student in Centennial Colleges’ Publishing program and is working towards an editorial career. In 2022, she graduated from Queen’s University with a BA in History and Art History and has since taken up freelance editing.
Teagan loves watching, listening to, or reading about anything that happens to spark her curiosity—except for sports.
Chloe Robinson
Editorial Assistant
Chloe Robinson is an award-winning, detail-oriented, and passionate publishing professional, with experience in freelance journalism, copywriting, and copyediting. She is certified with an BA in English Literature from Toronto Metropolitan University, and a graduate certification in Book and Magazine Publishing from Centennial College.
When she doesn't have her nose buried in a new book, she's usually working on her social venture start-up, or out walking dogs with her part-time pet care service. Her favourite genres include historical fiction, psychological thrillers, speculative fiction, romance, gonzo journalism, and psychology or self-help books. Chloe currently lives in Toronto, Canada.
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