Brian Langan
Trading as: Storyline Editing and Storyline Literary Agency
Co. Meath
Professional memberships
Irish Writers Centre (Professional Member)
Educational qualifications
BA (Economics and French), UCD MA (Film Studies), UCD
Languages
French, Irish (working knowledge)
Experience
Editor, Oak Tree Press, 1997–2001
Editor, The Liffey Press, 2001–2007
Commissioning Editor (Non-Fiction), Poolbeg Press, 2007–2010
Editor, Transworld Ireland (Penguin Random House Ireland), 2010–2017
Freelance Editor, Storyline Editing, 2017–
Literary Agent, Storyline Literary Agency, 2019–
Services offered
Writing, fiction editing, non-fiction editing, developmental editing, structural editing, manuscript assessment, teaching/coaching, literary agent
Media
Books
Subject areas
Fiction; narrative and general non-fiction; memoir, autobiography and biography; humour; history; film, music and cultural studies; business; sports
Clients include
Transworld; Sandycove (Penguin Ireland); Gill Books; Black & White Publishing; Simon & Schuster; independent authors.
Examples of work undertaken
LITERARY AGENT:
Edie May Hand, Dirtpickers (Manilla Press, forthcoming 2026)
Patrick Doherty, Pure Innocent Boy (Dedalus Books, 2025)
Oona Frawley, This Interim Time (Lilliput, 2025)
Hesse Phillips, Lightborne (Atlantic Books, 2024)
Fiona Neary, Parcels in the Post: Growing Up with 50 Siblings (New Island, 2024)
Niamh McAnally, Flares Up: A Story Bigger than the Atlantic (Pitch Publishing, 2022)
Olivia Fitzsimons, The Quiet Whispers Never Stop (John Murray Books, 2022)
Luke Cassidy, Iron Annie (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Mel O’Doherty, Fallen (Bluemoose Books, 2021)
Niall Bourke, Line (Tramp Press, 2021)
FREELANCE:
Donal Ryan, Heart, Be at Peace (Doubleday, 2024)
Donal Ryan, The Queen of Dirt Island (Doubleday, 2022)
Brendan O’Leary, Making Sense of a United Ireland (Penguin Sandycove, 2022)
Mia Doring, Any Girl (Hachette Ireland, 2022)
Lisa Harding, Bright Burning Things (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Donal Ryan, Strange Flowers (Doubleday, 2020)
Richie Sadlier, Recovering (Gill Books, 2019)
David Robert Grimes, The Irrational Ape (Simon & Schuster, 2019)
Lynn Ruane, People Like Me (Gill Books, 2018)
David McWilliams, Renaissance Nation (Gill Books, 2018)
Seán Cavanagh with Damian Lawlor, The Obsession: My Autobiography (Black & White, 2018)
IN-HOUSE:
Fiction:
Donal Ryan, The Spinning Heart; The Thing About December; All We Shall Know; A Slanting of the Sun; From A Low and Quiet Sea
Shane Connaughton, Married Quarters
Ciarán McMenamin, Skintown
Ken Bruen, Headstone; Purgatory
Niamh O’Connor, Too Close for Comfort; Blink
Mark O’Sullivan, Crocodile Tears; Sleeping Dogs
Non-fiction:
Colm O’Regan, The “Irish Mammy” series of books; Bolloxology
Conor O’Clery, May You Live in Interesting Times; Moscow: December 25, 1991; The Shoemaker and His Daughter
Hilary Fannin, Hopscotch
Patrick Deeley, The Hurley Maker’s Son
Joe Duffy, Just Joe
David Norris, A Kick Against the Pricks
Colm Cooper, Gooch
Sinéad McCoole, Easter Widows
Anne Chambers, T.K. Whitaker: Portrait of a Patriot
Mickey Harte, Harte: Presence is the Only Thing
Kathryn Thomas, Off the Beaten Track
Kathleen Doyle, What Would Ma Say?
Ann Kenny, The Girl in the Wicker Basket
Carole Coleman, Alleluia America
Anthony Murphy, Island of the Setting Sun
Additional information
I am a published novelist – my first novel, Light in the Head, was published by Poolbeg Press in 1999. I have facilitated creative writing and editing courses and workshops for the Irish Writers’ Centre, Publishing Ireland, National University of Ireland Galway and University of Limerick. I also run Storyline Literary Agency, established in 2019: https://www.storylineagency.com/