Nick Mullendore is the Founder & President of the Vertical Ink Agency, which he established in January 2016 after having worked with the Loretta Barrett Books, Inc. literary agency since March of 1998.  He remains the Managing Partner of Loretta Barrett Books - which continues to serve its existing projects and clients - while building his own Vertical Ink list by working with existing Barrett Books clients as well as new clients on their original book projects.

Nick began his publishing career in publicity at HarperBusiness, the trade business books imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.  There he learned in-depth the world of major publishing before making the leap to agenting.  Over the years he’s worked with authors such as Ray Kurzweil, Mariah Stewart, Mark Nepo, Jessica Bird, George Weigel, Betty White, Christopher Kennedy Lawford, Chaz Bono, Phil Plait, Harold Schechter, MJ Rose, Carol Goodman, Jack Kelly, Noah Levine, Dr. James Martin, Wayne Muller, Bill O’Hanlon, Melvin Urofsky, Theresa Rebeck, and many others on a variety of bestselling fiction and nonfiction books.

Nick has a wealth of experience selling US, foreign, audio, and television and film rights for a wide range of fiction and nonfiction books.  He specializes in nonfiction, particularly in the genres of Mind/Body/Spirit, Health & Wellness, Business & Leadership, Inspiration & Motivation, Current Events & Politics, Popular Science & Psychology, Pop Culture, Memoir, Humor, History, and Sports, and is willing to consider proposals in other nonfiction genres as well.  Nick is more selective when it comes to the fiction he takes on, but it’s fair to say that he loves fiction that successfully rides the line between “literary” and “literate”, while still maintaining something of a commercial sensibility. You can follow Nick on Twitter - @Vertical_Ink.

In 2020, Vertical Ink added Reeves Hamilton, a twenty-plus year veteran of the publishing industry, to specialize in science fiction, broadly defined as hard Sci-Fi and space opera, but also as Sci-Fi-adjacent and genre-bending upmarket commercial fiction. He is not seeking adult fantasy or young adult fiction. You can follow Reeves on Twitter - @InkReeves.