Julia Kardon is a literary agent at the boutique New York City-based literary agency HG Literary. Born and raised in New York City, her first job in publishing, while in high school, was shelving fiction at the fabled Strand Bookstore. After receiving degrees in Comparative Literature, as well as in Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of Chicago, she moved to Prague to teach English for a year. Julia then returned to New York to start her career in publishing. She joined HG Literary in 2018 after building a list at Mary Evans Inc and handling foreign rights. Prior to that she was an assistant at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc, where she was hired after an unpaid internship at the Wylie Agency. In her spare time, Julia loves cultivating hobbies. She is currently studying Japanese (mostly on Duolingo), learning salsa (on the two!), running (slowly) and creating crossword puzzles (see tab). Devoted to increasing diversity in publishing, Julia is also the co-founder of the nonprofit Inkluded Inc, a group which fundraises for good causes in publishing, holds readings, and most recently, began running a free academy for those who cannot afford lengthy internships or costly publishing courses.

As an agent, she is interested primarily in literary and upmarket fiction and memoir, especially with a focus on marginalized and immigrant identity, narrative nonfiction, journalism, and history. Her clients include New York Times Best Sellers Brit Bennett and Etaf Rum, Barnes & Noble Discover picks John Freeman Gill and Leah Franqui, Center For Fiction Emerging Writer Fellow Melissa Rivero, Ohioana Award winner Moriel Rothman-Zecher, Stonewall Book Award winner Chris McCormick, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Toni Jensen, K Ming Chang, Hannah Giorgis, Rahawa Haile, Mariya Karimjee, podcast hosts Tracy Clayton and Ahmed Ali Akbar, activists June Eric-Udorie and Alice Wong, and others.