Michael Sissons, former chairman and MD of Peters Fraser and Dunlop has died at the age of 83. Michael Sissons was one of the most powerful figures in British publishing. He built PFD into one of the most respected and forward-looking agencies in the land and represented some of the leading writers of our time in both non-fiction and fiction, including Max Hastings, Simon Schama, Paddy Ashdown, Antonia Byatt, Rebecca West, Denis Healey, Chris Patten and Margaret Drabble.
Sissons was instrumental in setting up the Association of Authors’ Agents in 1978, helping to define the role of the agent and agency in the business.
Michael Sissons became Senior Consultant of PFD in 2008 and was a constant presence in the office right up until the end. As one of his authors said, we all thought he would go on forever.
He will be greatly missed.
Caroline Michel says: “He was the greatest of mentors, had the wickedest sense of humour… He runs through the DNA of PFD and to me, and many of my colleagues, this is a towering loss both professionally and personally.”