Penumbra Literary LLC is an independent full-service literary agency dedicated to publishing works by both new voices and established authors.
Jennifer Chen Tran, founder and literary agent of Penumbra Literary LLC, is a lifelong reader and experienced member of the publishing industry. Jennifer has served as Of Counsel to The New Press, a not-for-profit publisher in the public interest, and has also interned at the Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Agency in New York City. Previously, Jennifer was an editorial and publicity intern at Hunter House Publishers, an independent publisher that focuses on publishing books on emotional, mental, and physical health and well being, and editorial intern at Terrain Magazine in Berkeley, CA.
Jennifer obtained her Juris Doctor from Northeastern School of Law in Boston, MA, and a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis, with a minor in Legal Studies.
Jennifer first discovered her love for reading at an early age, staying up all night to finish The Catcher in the Rye and Jane Eyre before entering high school. In college, Jennifer took courses in Post-Modern literature with Professor Emma Kafalenos, comparative literature, and 19th Century Romantic Literature, and also served as lead copy editor and managing editor of Student Life, the college’s leading independent newspaper.
With a legal background, Jennifer understands the importance of negotiation when securing and retaining author rights. She counsels each client on building or expanding her platform, improving on craft, and works collaboratively with her clients to obtain the best deal for each writer’s creative investment. She believes in building fulfilling and life-long writing careers and is honored to work with her client-writers.
