About
the
Author


Author Photo:  John Smart

 

Wendy Werris was born in Brooklyn and raised in Los Angeles by two displaced but die-hard New Yorkers. Her mother was a free-spirited housewife, and her father a comedy writer for Jack Benny, the Marx Brothers, Milton Berle and Jackie Gleason. She describes her childhood as a wacky mix of Hollywood lunacy informed by a more conventional wisdom of hearth and home.

In 1970, at the age of 19, Wendy stumbled into her first job in the book business at Pickwick Bookshop in Hollywood. The experience left such a profound impression on her that she never left the industry. Deciding to postpone college, Wendy gradually progressed in the book business, continuing in retail bookselling for a few years, and then working for Rolling Stone/Straight Arrow Books in San Francisco. She began repping for publishers in 1975. Since 1983, Wendy has worked for herself as a commission sales rep for over one hundred publishers, from small independent presses to major houses.

In 1985 Wendy returned to school with the intention of becoming a psychologist. She graduated from Antioch University in Los Angeles in 1987. While the decision to study psychology had an intensely positive effect on her, Wendy ultimately decided to remain in the book business and has never looked back.

As a freelance author escort, Wendy has worked with a variety of writers. Among her favorites are Jeffrey Eugenides, Maxine Hong Kingston, Jonathan Franzen and the late Wendy Wasserstein. Her ability to put writers at ease while drawing out their best with her supportive humor has made Wendy a favorite choice among book publicists when their authors need special care on the road.

She is also a professional photographer. Over the last fifteen years, Wendy has taken photos of rock stars for corporate sponsors, actors for their personal family scrapbooks and authors for book jackets. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, People Magazine, American Photo and many other places. Wendy lives in Los Angeles.

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