In Memoriam – Simon Trewin
Simon Trewin, letterpress printer and renowned literary agent, recently died aged 60.
The following is taken, with kind permission, from Simon’s obituary in The Bookseller, 29 June 2026.
‘Literary agent Simon Trewin has died at the age of 60, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour at the end of March. Simon died peacefully at home on Thursday 25th June 2026, a month after his birthday. His family were at his side.
Trewin began his literary career at Sheil Land Associates, moving to Peters Fraser and Dunlop (PFD) before founding United Agents with a group of colleagues in 2007. In 2012, he became a partner at WME (William Morris Endeavor) and head of the London office of the global entertainment and talent agency.
In 2019, he launched his own boutique agency to represent a small number of authors, brands and entrepreneurs in the areas of art, culture, digital, literature and live events.
He also founded his own letterpress studio, named The Garage Press, to reflect where it started. Developing The Print Room at Bell House, Dulwich, Trewin found space for his expanding collection of metal and wooden type and illustration blocks, as well as many vintage printing presses – the oldest of which, ‘Gloria’, is a sister press to the one used by Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, and was built in 1885. The Garage Press was voted one of the top letterpress studios in Europe – “he loved getting inky, running regular workshops and spreading his enthusiasm for heritage crafts far and wide”.
Over the years, the authors Trewin worked with featured in prizes such as the Booker, the Costa, the Arthur C Clarke, the Edge Hill, The British Book Awards, the Irish Books Awards, the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, the Prix du Premier Roman, the Prix des Lecteurs Privat and countless others. In 2023, his client Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize at an unforgettable evening. Lynch said: “Simon Trewin played an essential role in my life as a writer. At a time when it seemed Grace might not find publication in the UK and Ireland, Simon did not waver. He walked the streets with his lantern light falling upon closed doors and kept knocking for 14 months. He kept the faith and that faith saw me through. When Grace won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, I dedicated the award to him. He loved his authors and when he founded Simon Trewin Creative he imagined it as a family. That is what he gave us – loyalty, belief, warmth, courage, zen equanimity and humour. I called him my consigliere and that is what he was to me. I will miss him terribly.”
Trewin was the author of several non-fiction works, and, building on his background in theatre, was also a trustee of the Salisbury Playhouse as well as the Arvon Foundation, and served on the Type Archive and INK Festival boards. In 2012, he became a judge at the Costa Book Awards, and judged the Short Story of the Year at the Irish Book Awards for 10 years. He represented many Irish authors, including – as well as Lynch – John Boyne, Sam Blake (Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin) and 2026 debut Neil Tully.
“Simon was by my side through good times and bad, literary hits and misses, personal traumas and professional dramas,” Boyne said. “Across three decades he became more than just a trusted colleague, he became one of my dearest friends. I will miss his wisdom and also his sense of fun and mischief, which was second to none.”
“Simon was a true giant who worked magic in the lives of his authors,” said Blake. “He supported us to create, caught us if we wobbled, and celebrated our every success. He was a dear friend, mentor and muse, who always brought light and laughter. I feel privileged to have known him. Without Simon Trewin there would be no Sam Blake.”
“Whenever I met with Simon I’d always leave fizzing with even more ideas and confidence,” said Victoria Finlay, who has been a client since 2000. “I found him inspiring. And I also loved how he was kind. To me but also to people who worked with him. So many of his colleagues over the years said how he’d encouraged them to grow and thrive.”
A tribute read: “Simon embodied that ‘tricky link’ between art and commerce with intelligence and aplomb. His warmth, sincerity and wonderful and eccentric sense of humour added richness to the world of writing, publishing and printing.
“Simon was truly a spirit guide to all his authors and he lives on between the pages of the huge number of books that he was instrumental in bringing to publication. Simon changed the lives of everyone he met and will be intensely missed.
“He is known throughout the industry for his wit, charm and incredible kindness, and the outpouring of love for him on both sides of the Atlantic has been immense.”
He leaves his wife and soulmate Helen, an artist and poet, and their son Jack, also an artist, whom he adored and of whom he was immensely proud.’
