Sally Ekus Is the Opposite of a Gatekeeper

Instead she's a cheerleader, therapist, crisis counselor, mediator, advocate, and cookbook super fan (basically since birth).

In my experience, literary agents tend to fly under the radar. There is usually an air of mystery about them—who they are, how to contact them, and what they’re looking for from new clients… if they even take on new clients.

That’s what makes Sally Ekus’s approach so radical and refreshing. Her newsletter name Not So Secret Agent says it all. Want to know how to write a cookbook proposal? Here you go. Curious about the real scoop on marketing and publicity (including what you can expect from your publisher)? Sally has answers. Looking for an agent? Here’s how to find one and why they might pass on representing you.

Photo: @paulette_griswold from Novella Photography

Through her Substack, public speaking, and appearances at conferences and on podcasts, Sally has made it her mission to share as much information as possible with the cookbook community, to demystify the process of landing an agent and then selling, publishing, and promoting a book. Along with the team at Everything Cookbooks, who Sally regularly partners with, I can’t imagine better resources for cookbook authors, both new and veteran. The industry is always changing, and there’s always something to learn!

As Sally says in her interview below, she was born into the cookbook biz. Her mother, Lisa, founded The Ekus Group in 1982 as a culinary PR firm that later transitioned into agenting. Sally joined the firm in 2009, and she now leads it. In 2024, The Ekus Group joined JVNLA as a boutique division specializing in culinary and lifestyle titles.

Thanks so much for chatting cookbooks, Sally, and for everything you do for your clients and the industry!

The Cookbookery Q&A with Sally Ekus

About how many cookbooks do you own?

SE: I’ve lost count! Probably somewhere in the couple hundred range. Luckily anything that isn’t in my personal collection is likely in Lisa Ekus’ library, which happens to hold the Guinness world record for the largest personal collection of cookbooks.

How do you organize them?

SE: The top two shelves in my office are a rotation of client titles that show up in the background of my Zoom meetings. The remaining shelves in my office and the overflow in my dining room are all organized by color. As a visual learner, I can find almost any title I am looking for by the spine.

What would you say to someone who questions why cookbooks still matter in our "digital age"?

SE: I don’t know. I don’t know any of those people. 😊

How do you see your role in the cookbook eco-system?

SE: As a literary agent that almost exclusively represents cookbook authors, my obvious role is helping authors land book contracts.

More subtly, I was literally born into this industry. My parents started the first culinary specific agency, and I grew up having dinner with luminaries like Julia Child and Rose Levy Beranbaum, who recently reminded me that she’s known me since I was a little girl. I recognize how lucky I am to have been part of the industry’s fabric for my entire life, and I’m eternally grateful for the advantages I have as a result.

To sum it up, I am invested in my authors’ careers, and I do all I can to ensure that their voices resonate across their whole portfolio of work. While focused on providing that support, I am also thinking about the entire culinary ecosystem I have grown up within. I bring historical knowledge to the work I do as a modern-day literary agent.

What's the hardest part about your job?

SE: This sounds cliché, but nothing is hard and everything is hard. I am simultaneously a cheerleader, therapist, crisis counselor, mediator, and advocate. The hardest part is how deeply I care about making sure my authors are happy and successful. I hold myself to incredibly high standards and want to deliver exceptional work for my clients and to the industry at large.

What's the most rewarding part of your job?

SE: The people. I have the tremendous honor of working with exceptional humans. My clients are amazing. Knowing that I am a small part of getting their work into the world is extremely rewarding.

Additionally, the mentorship I received first from Lisa Ekus (how lucky was I to get to work with my mom?!) and now with my colleagues at JVNLA, is also incredibly meaningful and endlessly rewarding.

What is one thing a cookbook author looking for an agent can do to set themselves up for success?

SE: Have patience – in the process, in your work, and try not to rush your first book. You can only write your first book once, so prepare and take your time. “Right not rushed” is one of my favorite and most well-used sayings.

What’s the first cookbook you remember cooking out of?

SE: Pretend Soup (Bookshop/Amazon), by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson.

Photo: @paulette_griswold from Novella Photography

What kind of cookbook reader/user are you?

SE: Don’t tell my clients this, but I don’t often follow recipes! I read cookbooks for inspiration, ideas, stories and then totally riff and do my own thing.

What is one cookbook you read, but don’t cook from?

SE: With a five-year-old running around, honestly, I mostly read cookbooks and rarely cook from any of them. This is shifting, but the juggle at the end of the day to get dinner on the table is real. I adore reading cookbooks and letting the words and ingredients inspire whatever I whip up, especially now that summer produce is bursting at every farm stand.

What is a cookbook that changed the way you cook?

SE: Omg, so many! Immediately popping into my mind is the mushroom pressing technique in Wicked Healthy (Bookshop/Amazon) by Chad and Derek Sarno with David Joachim. On the other end of the spectrum, Meathead’s first book on BBQ and Grilling (Bookshop/Amazon) (his second just came out!) busted so many cooking myths for me. I am all about that reverse sear now! I also would be remiss not to mention Sandra Gutierrez’s empanada recipe. Oh, and Frankie Gaw put a gluten-free dumpling in his first book, First Generation (Bookshop/Amazon) – amazing! I never thought I would be able to eat dumplings after going GF so many years ago.

What do you find boring in a cookbook?

SE: Lack of voice or a trendy gimmick.

What is a cookbook that totally transports you?

SE: Charles Phan’s Vietnamese Home Cooking (Bookshop/Amazon).

What's a cookbook cover you're obsessed with?

SE: Okay, first of all I should say that covers are one of the things in the publishing process fraught with the MOST opinions, feelings, and conversations to navigate. I have personally worked on hundreds of cookbooks, and our agency has represented thousands of titles. Never ONCE has an initial draft of a cookbook cover been the winning concept. I hope that gives readers a perspective on how loaded this decision is for everyone involved.

I am obsessed with the cover of Diasporican (Bookshop/Amazon), by illyanna Maisonet.

Also, if you look closely at Wicked Healthy, you’ll notice the butchering of a vegetable. I have always absolutely adored this cover.

What's a cookbook that you think didn't get enough attention?

SE: In my opinion, most cookbooks deserve more attention. One I love, Sandra Gutierrez’s Latinisimo (Bookshop/Amazon), did land a lot of media attention. But the book is BIG and expensive. I wish that more people who read about it actually went out to buy it and add it to their collection. The recipes are exceptional; there is no other book out there that chronicles the most common home-cooked recipes across all 21 Latin American countries.

I also want to plug Corrie Locke-Hardy’s book, The Revolution Will be Well Fed. About foods that fuel community and activism, it’s published by a small indie press and deserving of both more attention and support. (For a deeper dive about this book I encourage your readers to listen to this Everything Cookbooks episode.)

You’re only allowed to cook from three books for the rest of your life. What are they?

SE: Whyyyy are you making me answer this? I suppose I will pick the three books that I currently cook from most often: John Sarich at Chateau Ste. Michelle, any of Andrea Nguyen’s cookbooks, and Moosewood (Bookshop/Amazon).

Anything else you'd like to add about cookbooks or agenting?

SE: Publishing a book is hard. Believe me. I know because I help/watch my authors do this every year. Publishing a book is also incredibly rewarding, and it can open all sorts of new opportunities in a person’s career. If you’re reading this newsletter, it means you have found your way to a community of fellow cookbook lovers. Maybe you’re a cook, a food writer, a voracious cookbook fan, or someone who enjoys thoughtful culinary curation. Whatever brought you here, I hope you stick around to contribute to this cookbook-loving community. Without you, the work I get to do as an agent wouldn’t be possible. Thank you book lovers!

Interview has been lightly edited. If you purchase a book through one of these links, I may receive a small commission.

More to Nibble On

• Vogue’s list of best cookbooks of the year

• Batman News covered the new Superman cookbook, and that’s such a weird sentence to type that I had to include it here.

• Jimmy Proffitt announced his first cookbook. I’ve had an early peek, and it’s full of heart and delicious-looking food.

• IACP shared dates for its awards ceremony and summit in NYC this fall. I’ll be there!

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post please tap the heart button, restack, or share with another cookbook fan.