Writer and Literary Agent, Dan Hooker away November 24, 2005. He was an agent for 11 years, all with the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. Although he worked hard to find new authors of merrit, he also worked with established professionals such as the late A. E. van Vogt.

The following was released by his employer:

11/30/05:  The Ashley Grayson Agency lost a great friend and a great agent this past week, with the untimely death of Dan Hooker. Few knew that Dan had been fighting a year-long battle with a recurrence of melanoma, because Dan didn’t talk about himself a lot. He didn’t waste time feeling sorry for himself; his determination and positive attitude enabled him to outlive his prognosis by over a year. We can all take inspiration from his courage and his style. He pursued his own writing, including work shopping with his long-time critique group, and saw his short fiction published. This gave him great rapport with fellow authors, and he really excelled at developing others and grooming them for publication; he launched the careers of many new talents. What he would want the publishing world to know is that he talked talent and story and was at his desk, working for clients and discovering new talent, up to the last.  The authors who worked with Dan know that nothing pleased him more than saying “We have a sale.” All of us at the agency will miss him.

He passed away November 24, 2005, in Orange, California, at age 54. Born in 1950 in Los Angeles, Dan had a Masters degree in Spanish from UCLA. He is survived by his sisters in Orange, California.

Dan Hooker launched the novel-writing careers of such authors as Isaac Adamson, Andrew Fox, Barb and JC Hendee, Alan Troop, and Carrie Vaughn, as well as the book publishing career of fellow agent, Denise Dumars. Inquiries about all clients represented by the Agency should be made to Ashley Grayson.

Posted December 2, 2005