About Literary Lawyer

Experienced Negotiation on Both Sides of the Table

Remarkable Milestones and Key Successes

Melissa Nasson founded Literary Lawyer to combine her diverse legal and publishing background with her desire to provide expert consultation, legal review, and negotiation services to agents, authors, and publishers. Melissa brings the unique experience of working on both sides of the publishing negotiation table. As Contracts Director at a Boston book publisher, Melissa has negotiated publishing contracts since 2013, along with permissions agreements, translation licenses, film options, audio licenses, and more. She also has extensive drafting experience, with a focus on balancing thoroughness with clarity and brevity.

As Literary Agent at Rubin Pfeffer Content, a boutique children’s literary agency, Melissa has negotiated contracts on behalf of agency clients with a wide range of publishers, from boutique to Big 5.

Melissa joined the affiliated faculty at Emerson College in Spring 2020, teaching Publishing Law in the graduate program for Writing, Literature, and Publishing.

Melissa graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Boston University. A Terrier for life, she also graduated from Boston University School of Law. Melissa is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts. She currently lives in Boston.

Reach Out to Our Literary Law Experts

Expert legal assistance for literary agents, authors, and publishers. Contact us today.