My mother, Janet Freer, who has died aged 89, was a literary agent for science-fiction writers in the 1960s and 70s. She helped launch the careers of several young SF writers.
Janet began work as a commercial artist before starting her publishing career in London around 1962. She spent several years in the sales department at Panther Books and then joined Scott Meredith Literary Agency for a short while before setting up her own agency. Janet Freer Literary Agency specialised in SF/fantasy and represented new-wave SF writers such as Michael Moorcock, Harlan Ellison, Christopher Priest and Thomas M Disch, and others associated with the SF magazine New Worlds in the60s.
In the early 70s, Janet joined Michael Bakewell and Diana Tyler at MBA Literary Agents. She represented an impressive list of authors during that time, including Anne McCaffrey, Anne Perry and Ursula K Le Guin for the UK market.
In the 80s, Janet moved back to her native Canada with her second husband, Peter Saunders, an assistant film director, whom she had married in 1981. He died aged 57. Unfortunately, Janet was unable to resume her career in publishing and worked in various jobs until she retired.
Janet was born in Toronto, Canada, to Eileen (nee Scott), a piano teacher, and Charles Mulvey, an army officer. She attended Sacred Heart convent school in Montreal, boarding there from the age of seven, an experience she did not enjoy. After studying for an arts degree at McGill University in Montreal, she followed her mother to the UK in 1951 and remained in England for the next 30 years. Janet settled in north London, where she met Michael Freer, my father, at a Hampstead Labour party meeting. They married in 1955 but the marriage was short-lived, ending in divorce.
During retirement, Janet became very active in the Parkdale community in Toronto, supporting food banks and volunteering for the New Democratic party. Her passion for cats, leftist politics and SF/fantasy remained constant throughout her life.
Despite increasing health problems, including breast cancer, she continued her yearly trips to the UK into her 80s; spending time with relatives and friends from her publishing days. After being ill for several months with end-stage renal disease, she made the decision to end her life through voluntary euthanasia, with a glass of champagne in her hand and her friends by her side. Her indomitable spirit and zest for life will be greatly missed.
She is survived by me, her two grandchildren, George and Ella, and by her half-sisters, Ros and Laura.
