Corporate Papers of the Robert Mills Literary Agency
Overview
In 1959, Robert Park Mills founded the Robert Mills Literary Agency. Mills worked full time as an agent, representing a wide variety of science fiction writers, as well as other genres. In 1984, Robert Mills retired and sold the agency to Richard Curtis Associates. This collection contains correspondence, book agreements, and royalty contracts between the Robert Mills Literary Agency and authors.
Dates
- Creation: 1948 - 1989
Creator
- Robert Mills Literary Agency (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
History of the Robert Mills Literary Agency
Robert Park Mills was born in 1920 in Missoula, Montana, to William P. Mills and Alice Wicklund. Mills received his bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1942. He served in World War II, rising to the rank of first lieutenant. Mills was married twice, to Anne Hale in 1945, and later to Patricia Bain. He and Patricia had two children, Frederic and Alison.
In 1949, Mills served as managing editor of Mercury Press' The Magazine of Fantasy. He also served as the managing editor to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine from 1948–1959. Mills became the sole editor of what became The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1954.
In 1959, Mills founded the Robert Mills Literary Agency. As a full time literary agent, Mills represented a wide variety of science fiction writers. In 1984, Robert Mills retired and sold the agency to Richard Curtis Associates. Richard Curtis, president of Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., is both a literary agent and author. Robert Park Mills died in 1986 at the age of 65.
Extent
24 Linear Feet (25 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
This collection contains correspondence, book agreements, royalty contracts, and other related records between the Robert Mills Literary Agency and authors represented by the agency. The contents of this collection were arranged alphabetically according to author's last name. Titles listed may represent working or abbreviated titles rather than final publication titles.
Physical Location
MS 307
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, Richard Curtis Associates, Inc, 1990
- Title
- Guide to the Robert Mills Literary Agency Collection
- Subtitle
- Corporate Papers of the Robert Mills Literary Agency
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by rh, 2012, brch, 2012. Finding aid encoded by rh, 2012, brch, 2012. Finding aid revised by mwh, 2017.
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in<language encodinganalog="language">English</language>
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/3993174092
- Preferred citation
-
Robert Mills Literary Agency Collection, MS 307, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository