lubi barre

Lubi Barre is a writer, literary curator and founder of Davenport Books, Hamburg’s first English-language cultural space and bookshop. Born in Paris and raised between Somalia, France and the United States, she has lived in Germany for more than a decade and brings an instinctively international perspective to her work as an agent.

Curiosity is at the heart of Lubi’s list. She is interested in writers who can make her curious about a world, an idea or an experience she hasn’t encountered before — whether that is an overlooked chapter of history, an unusual obsession, a family story, a life lived between cultures, or a subject she never knew she wanted to know about. She is drawn to outsiders, third-culture perspectives and unconventional ways of seeing the world, but above all to distinctive voices.

Her interests range across literary fiction, book-club fiction, narrative nonfiction, memoir, essays, poetry and work that moves between forms. She loves stories that draw her into other people’s lives, particularly when they challenge what she thinks she knows about the world. In nonfiction, she is just as interested in the unexpected as she is in the familiar, especially writers who can take a subject, however big or seemingly ordinary, and make us see it differently. She welcomes both emerging and established writers, including those working outside traditional publishing routes.

A central part of Lubi’s work is international. She works across Germany and Europe, Africa and the diaspora, with a particular interest in literature that falls between publishing markets: writers living in European countries who write outside the dominant language; writers published in European languages whose work deserves an English-language readership; and writers from Africa and the diaspora whose work has yet to reach wider international audiences. She is interested in building careers and readerships across the UK, US, Europe and beyond.

As a writer herself, Lubi approaches agenting from inside the creative process. She understands the vulnerability involved in making work and the importance of having someone who can advocate fiercely for it. She works closely with writers to develop their work, understand the publishing process and make informed decisions about their careers. For Lubi, representation means not only selling a book, but ensuring that writers are heard, supported and equipped to advocate for themselves — and that their books receive the attention and support they deserve.