Ayesha Pande

Ayesha Pande grew up on four continents, which may be why she’s drawn to voices that cross borders—cultural, emotional, and political. She founded Ayesha Pande Literary in 2007 after a career in editorial at several major publishing houses, including Penguin Random House and Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Her list spans literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, history, memoir, biography, journalism, cultural criticism, and public scholarship. She is drawn to distinctive voices, ambitious ideas, and books that deepen our understanding of the world. Her clients include novelists, historians, journalists, and public intellectuals whose work has shaped literary and cultural conversations around the globe.

Books by Ayesha’s clients have received numerous honors, including the National Book Award, the Carnegie Medal, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the PEN/Bellwether Prize, the PEN/Bingham Prize, the John Dos Passos Prize, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, among many others. Their books have reached #1 on The New York Times bestseller list, been selected by major national book clubs, translated into dozens of languages, and adapted across multiple media.

In addition to representing individual authors, Ayesha works closely with the James Baldwin Estate, helping to steward Baldwin’s literary legacy through new publishing initiatives, international licensing, and cross-platform partnerships.

Ayesha serves on the board of Art Omi and was the founding chair of the Association of American Literary Agents' Committee on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. She also helped launch Literary Agents of Change, a nonprofit organization committed to increasing diversity within the publishing industry.

She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley, where she enjoys tending her gardens, cooking for family and friends, and walking in the woods with her dogs.

Country of Publication

United States

Professional Associations

Member of AALA

AI Policy