It was with profound sadness that the death of my literary agent Simon Trewin was announced by his family on Monday 29th June 2026. Simon died peacefully at home on Thursday 25th June, a month after his 60th birthday. His beloved family were at his side.
Simon was a dear friend as well as my agent and his loss is devastating for everyone who knew him. The outpouring of love for him since his diagnosis with a horribly aggressive brain tumour at the end of March, has been incredible – every person he touched has a story of his kindness. He was an ideas person, looking at everything creatively from outside the box, always thinking big and he was beyond generous with his time. He was a brilliant, brilliant negotiator and his experience and knowledge of the publishing industry was incredible. We constantly brainstormed – ideas for books and events, sharing plot possibilities, news stories, and publishing gossip. His impish sense of humour made me laugh out loud, even as he became seriously ill.
He was a true literary giant who worked magic in the lives of his authors – he supported us to create, caught us if we wobbled, and celebrated every success. He was my best friend, mentor and muse, who always brought light and laughter. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to see him every week from a few weeks before his diagnosis to just before the end, serendipity indeed.
Simon found an incredible home with Bonnier for Little Bones, my runaway bestselling debut, and was involved in every book since. He often came up with titles, including The Dark Room which was inspired by a print he’d done of hares running across an old map (hence Hare’s Landing). It thrilled him when I hit the number one slot, not least with Your Every Move, and he was beside me when I won Irish Teen/YA Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards in 2024. I didn’t realise I’d won until he said, “It’s you.” Without Simon there would be no Sam Blake.
He is known throughout the industry for his wit, charm and that incredible kindness, and there has been a wave of heartfelt messages coming in to his family from both sides of the Atlantic, from people who met him for a few minutes or those he emailed so thoughtfully, to those who have worked alongside him for many years.
Simon began his literary career at Sheil Land Associates, moving to Peters Fraser and Dunlop (PFD) before founding United Agents with a group of colleagues in 2007. In 2012 he became a Partner at WME (William Morris Endeavor) and head of the London office of the global entertainment and talent agency.
In 2019 he launched his own boutique agency to represent a small number of authors, brands and entrepreneurs in the areas of art, culture, digital, literature, and live events. Curating his own list gave Simon time for his second love, his traditional letterpress studio, named The Garage Press to reflect where it started.
After an introduction to Bell House, Dulwich, by Tania Hurt-Newton, Simon moved the Garage Press to one of the original Bell House garages and went on to co-found The Print Room and Bindery in the basement with Tania. Bell House gave Simon space for his expanding collection of important metal and wooden type and illustration blocks, as well as many vintage printing presses, including an Albion Press, gifted to the new Print Room by the Type Archive. The Garage Press was voted one of the top print studios in Europe – he loved getting inky, running regular workshops and spreading his enthusiasm for heritage crafts to all ages. The press that started it all, ‘Gloria’, was built in 1885 and a sister press to the one used by Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press. A perfect connection to the literary world.
A very proud Trustee and Liveryman of the Stationers Guild and a Fellow of the RSA (where he sponsored me for Fellowship) he was also a huge fan of classic cars and loved driving Scout (an Yves Klein blue 1960 TR3a) and Bean (a bright red 1972 MG MGB Roadster) around the streets of South London.
Over the years, the authors Simon worked with featured in prizes such as the Booker, the Costa, the Arthur C Clarke, the Edgehill, the British Book Awards, the Irish Books Awards, the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, the Prix du Premier Roman, the Prix des Lecteurs Privat and countless others. In 2023 his client Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize at an unforgettable evening (for both of them). Paul said, “Simon Trewin played an essential role in my life as a writer. At a time when it seemed Grace might not find publication in the UK and Ireland, Simon did not waver. He walked the streets with his lantern light falling upon closed doors and kept knocking for fourteen months. He kept the faith and that faith saw me through. When Grace won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, I dedicated the award to him. He loved his authors and when he founded Simon Trewin Creative he imagined it as a family. That is what he gave us — loyalty, belief, warmth, courage, zen equanimity and humour. I called him my consigliere and that is what he was to me. I will miss him terribly.”
Simon was the author of a several non-fiction works, and, building on his background in theatre, was also a Trustee of the Salisbury Playhouse as well as the Arvon Foundation, and served on the Type Archive and INK Festival boards. In 2012 he became a judge at the Costa Book Awards, and was also a judge on the CWA Creasey Dagger panel for several years, particularly appropriate because of his love for nurturing new talent, and his connections with the estate. Judging the the Irish Short Story of the Year at the Irish Book Awards for ten years, Simon represented many Irish authors, including, as well as Paul Lynch, John Boyne, myself and 2026 debut Neil Tully.
Simon came from a rich literary lineage. His father, Ion Trewin, a legendary man of letters, ran what was then the Man Booker prize, was chair of the Cheltenham Literary Festival and publishing director Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Simon’s grandfather, JC Trewin, a renowned theatre critic and the author of many books, established the annual Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean performance, won in 2026 by Haley Atwell, and previously by actors including David Tennant, Cush Jumbo and Andrew Scott.
Truly a spirit guide to all his authors, Simon will live on between the pages of the huge number of books that he was instrumental in bringing to publication. Simon changed the lives of everyone he met and will be intensely missed. He leaves his fabulous wife and soulmate, Helen, an artist and poet, and their son Jack, also an artist, whom he adored and was immensely proud of.
I miss him dearly.
(c) Sam Blake
