ABOUT
We represent writers and illustrators around the globe from our offices in Sydney, London, and Brussels.
The Zeitgeist Story
Zeitgeist Agency began in 2006 when Benython Oldfield and Sharon Galant met at a party in Shanghai. Sharon was running a chain of English language bookstores and Benython was scouting Chinese writers to represent. After signing a number of independent Chinese writers to their fledgling agency, both returned to their home cities – Sharon to Brussels, and Benython to Sydney. American Thomasin Chinnery joined the Brussels office in 2014 to focus on Children’s, YA and Crime. In 2023, writer and critic Samuel Bernard joined Benython in the Sydney office to focus on commercial fiction, including Crime, Psychological Thriller, and Historical Fiction.
ZEITGEIST PEOPLE
Benython
Benython Oldfield Sydney based Director of Zeitgeist Agency trained as a journalist and began his publishing life at Random House in the 1990s.
Within a few years Benython had an opportunity to go on a fact-finding tour of Chinese publishing with the legendary UK Agent Toby Eady. In the thrall of Eady’s bravado and inspired by 2000s China, Benython left Random House to find writers to agent in Shanghai. There he met his business partner Sharon Galant, who runs Zeitgeist Brussels.
Sharon
Sharon Galant is the Director of Zeitgeist Agency in Europe. She has worked in publishing and the book industry for 10 years.
She started her career with Editions Complexe, an independent publisher based in Brussels that specialises in literature, history and international relations.
In 2004 she moved to China where she managed a major English language bookstore chain (Charterhouse Bookstores). In her role as buyer and events organiser, she reviewed virtually every title published about China and met new and upcoming authors, both Chinese and long-standing expats.
Sharon is a fiction aficionado but has a soft spot for thought-provoking non-fiction. This stems from a previous career in international aid organisations (European Commission, CARE International) which brought her to live in many parts of the world, including the Middle East, Africa & Eastern Europe.
Sharon handles manuscripts in English, French and Dutch and can converse in Hebrew and Mandarin.
Thomasin
Thomasin Chinnery joined Zeitgeist in 2014 after several years as a freelance editor and translator.
Her early career was in marketing, strategic planning and project management for a Fortune-500 US corporation.
An American living in Europe for over 20 years, she speaks distinctively Mediterranean languages – French, Italian, Spanish – and loves spending any free time she has around that wonderful European sea.
Thomasin is on the lookout for great voices in Children’s books, Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Picture Books. She also loves a good Crime novel, be it Adult or Young Adult.
samuel
Samuel Bernard is a freelance writer, critic, editor, and literary prize judge, who joined Zeitgeist as a Literary Agent in 2023.
He writes for The Weekend Australian’s ‘Notable Books’ column, as well as a monthly opinion column for Good Reading Magazine and has appeared in the Australian Book Review and Backstory Journal. In 2024, Samuel was asked to be an inaugural judge for 'The Australian Fiction Prize' alongside industry legends Caroline Overington and Catherine Milne. He has also been an editor for Verge Literary Journal, published by Monash University Publishing.
Samuel has a Master of Writing from Swinburne University and was working on a PhD in Creative Writing at Monash University, before deciding that the publishing industry was where he wanted to be. He has a passion for global history, including a deep interest in the world war era.
Samuel is open to receiving submissions in commercial fiction, specifically crime, psychological thriller, romance, and historical fiction.
