I'm new to this list, so please excuse me if this has been discussed before. In /Phoenix/, pp 257-258 of /The Book of Taltos/, Sticks mentions some music agents, who seem to be references to certain major SF/F publishing houses. The full quote is: " '...There's a woman named Aisse. I wouldn't work with her, though.' 'Why not?' He shrugged. 'She never seems to know quite what she's doing. And when she does, she never lets the musicians know. Word is she lies a lot, especially when she screws up.' 'Okay. Who else?' 'There's a fellow named Phent who doesn't lie quite as much, but he's about as incompetent and he charges twice what everyone else does. He's got a lock on the low-life places. They suit him.' 'I might need him. Where can I find him?' 'Number fourteen Fishmonger Street.' 'Okay, who else?' 'There's Greenbough. He's not too bad when he isn't drunk. D'Rai will keep you working, but she'll also get a hold on you and try to keep everything you play sounding the same. Most of the musicians I know don't like that.' 'Blood of the goddess, Sticks, isn't there anyone good in the business?' 'Not really. The best of the lot is an outfit run by three Easterners named Tomas, Oscar, and Ramon. They have South Adrilankha and a few of the better inns north of town.' " Aisse is Ace Books, D'Rai is Del Rey Books, and Tomas, Oscar, and Ramon is Tor Books. I don't know who Greenbough and Phent are. Does anybody know? -- "The best of our fiction is by novelists who allow that it is as good as they can give, and the worst by novelists who maintain that they could do much better if only the public would let them." --J. M. Barrie, /The Contemporary Review/, 1891