It's with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my agent, Christopher Little, who died at home surrounded by his family on January 7th, aged 79.

Almost 25 years to the day earlier, I had my first phone conversation with Chris. A few months earlier I'd sent a few chapters of a novel called Ayuamarca to five different agents, having chosen them out of the Writers And Artists Yearbook. Chris was the only one who asked to see more, and who then rang to say that he was interested in possibly representing me.

Chris didn't sign me up straight away. I was very young (23) and raw. Instead, at no cost to me, he and his team worked with me for several months, providing me with feedback and encouraging me to rewrite and edit. As my skills began to develop, Chris then formalised the arrangement and became my agent, a post he held for the next quarter of a century.

I wasn't an easy author to represent. I didn't write just one type of book, and I mashed up genres, making me almost impossible to pigeon hole. But Chris believed in the quality of my work, and he allowed me to send loads of different types of books to him -- horror, thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy, and others that defied any kind of simple categorisation. He worked hard with me on those that he felt had promise, and with his guidance we secured a deal for that first book I'd sent him, Ayuamarca, which was eventually released in February 1999. (It was re-released years later as Procession of the Dead. Chris always knew that was a better title for the book, but I could be a stubborn young man, and he was prepared on those occasions to let me have my way, and to back me, even when he knew I was wrong.)

In the middle of 1997 I sent Chris the first draft of a children's book called Cirque Du Freak. Even though it was a dark, weird little book, it excited him and he took it to twenty different publishers -- all of whom swiftly turned it down. That should have been the end of my commercial career, but when Chris believed in a book, he fought for it, and he fought for Cirque Du Freak, setting up meetings with a few publishers so that we could chat with them and argue our case. That resulted in the editor at one of those publishing houses (HarperCollins) changing her mind and buying the book, which went on to become a worldwide smash, fully justifying the faith that Chris had showed in my work and in me.

I was always impressed by Chris' professionalism. Obviously I was aware that one of his other clients was a certain J K Rowling, and I suspect most agents would have let their other clients go if they'd had to deal with the runaway juggernaut of the Harry Potter phenomenon. But Chris kept me on and always made time for me, and I never had the feeling that I was in any way secondary to any of his other authors. If Chris believed in you, he remained loyal to you and supported you to the best of his ability.

We became close friends over the years and shared many a long, lazy lunch together, usually in the company of Emma and Jules, his long-serving allies. My fondest memories of him actually don't involve work or deals, just chatting about books and theatre and movies and Chris' fascinating life in the Far East before he became an agent. He was always in a good mood whenever we met, his eyes twinkling, gently ribbing Emma and Jules. And he always knew how to pick out the best bottle of wine (or two) on the menu.

Chris rang me early in August last year to let me know that he was losing his battle with cancer and that the end was nigh. He spent a lot of time arranging my transition to a new agent at Curtis Brown, so that I would continue to be carefully represented in the years to come, but he also continued to work on my behalf almost right the way to the end. He was keen to tie up a deal involving a potential TV adaptation of Cirque Du Freak before the end, and he did indeed get it over the line, concluding negotiations in the middle of December, just three weeks before his death. Chris obviously knew at that point that he wouldn't be around to see the series rebooted if it goes ahead successfully, but he knew how much such a deal would mean to me, and he was determined to do right by me, even with the Grim Reaper standing by his bedside and impatiently tapping its hourglass.

Regardless of talent, an author needs a few lucky breaks in their life if they're going to get anywhere with their work, and my luckiest break was when Chris decided to take a chance on me. Everything I've enjoyed since then -- the book sales, the adaptations, the financial success, even my family, as I met my wife through work when I was promoting Cirque Du Freak -- I owe to Chris. I was fortunate enough to be able to tell him that before the end -- it's nice to laud people after they're dead, but much nicer, I think, if you can tell them how much they mean to you while they're still alive.

I'm going to miss Chris more than words will ever be able to describe, but at the same time I know I'm lucky to have enjoyed his company for such a long stretch. I also have the bonus comfort of knowing that when my time comes, and the Grim Reaper taps on my front door, he's going to be accompanied by a grinning Chris Little, who'll no doubt produce a contract and murmur mischieviously, "No need to worry -- I've negotiated you the best deal possible..."

Even in death may he be triumphant!!!

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/agent-christopher-little-dies-aged-79-1232522