Wendy Weil | Literary agent, 72

Wendy Weil, 72, a literary agent known for her low-key but determined style and for an eclectic clientele of groundbreaking and best-selling authors, died Sept. 22 of a heart attack at her country home in Cornwall, Conn.

A New York native and graduate of Wellesley College, Ms. Weil had Alice Walker, Rita Mae Brown, Fannie Flagg, and Mark Helprin among her clients.

She was in publishing for 50 years. She started in the training program at Doubleday, then moved on to become an agent, eventually founding Wendy Weil Agency Inc. in 1986.

Among the books she helped get published were Walker's The Color Purple, Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle, Helprin's Winter's Tale, and Andrea Barrett's Ship Fever, a story collection that was dedicated to Ms. Weil and that won the National Book Award. - AP