a gathering of voices
“…we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation…It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not be able to tell anyone how good it is ...to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with. ”
— C.S. Lewis
Delight. Discovery.
Those two words express my love of books and their authors. Ever since I was a young boy growing up in Brazil, I have taken great delight in stories that carry me away in my imagination. My earliest memory is of my father spinning a yarn on a sandy beach. That led to the discovery of author Enid Blyton and then Patricia St. John and then Tolkien and then ….
I’m still discovering great writers today.
At Pape Commons, we gather a community of creative individuals who allow us the privilege of helping them get discovered by publishing houses, and then by readers around the globe.
the Commons.
So,
How may we serve you?
Here at Pape Commons, we’re more than a literary agency seeking to represent authors and sell their books.
We’re a collaborative, creative community that leans into each other and embraces one another’s giftedness. We select and organize a writer’s work into a proposal, provide feedback, and align them with the publishing house that will best serve them. And at each step of the journey, we encourage and care for our talent, building and strengthening a community of likeminded creatives in the process.
Commons founder Don Pape brings more than thirty years of publishing experience from such houses as Doubleday, Tyndale House, and NavPress. Throughout his career, he has long championed the essence of the Commons: celebrating the individual and stewarding their resources in and through community.
From warehouse packer to agent and publisher, Don has worked alongside countless sales and marketing experts, literary agents, and authors. He’s had the privilege of guiding fiction and non-fiction titles to bestselling status, serving such notable authors as Madeleine L’Engle, Louis Giglio, Eugene Peterson, and Liz Curtis Higgs. “My greatest pleasure is in seeing great content become reality on the page—in a physical or digital book,” he says.
At Pape Commons, we desire to curate beautiful words through a convivial gathering of winsome writers and thoughtful creatives.
“Don has the uncanny ability to position himself in the creative flow of what’s next. With the future identified, Don looks for where he can help best. While he’s had a very successful career as a publisher, that moniker is too small for what Don does. More accurately, he functions as an aggregator of the good - linking new, artful voices with the best, most fruitful distribution channels. Don’t misunderstand, though: Don is a dealmaker! Only his deals always make a profit. How? His work is done for the benefit of people and planet. That’s a deal I’ll sign up for.”
— Charlie Peacock, Grammy Award-winning music producer; Co-founder of TheWriterTheHusband.com
What People Are Saying
“Don is a natural curator of strong writing. He is a voracious and appreciative reader across genres. He is one of the most generous people I’ve ever met in terms of mentoring and developing good writers to become great writers. When Don recommends a writer or a book, I know I can rely on his decades of industry experience on both the publishing and agenting sides of the table, as well as his love for a powerful image or delightful turn of phrase.”
— Susan Fish, bestselling Canadian author, storywell.ca
““I have a special regard for Don Pape. After being turned down by a multitude of publishers, Don believed in my book The Fred Factor and offered me a contract. The book has since sold roughly 2 million copies. His instincts, expertise and vision in the publishing industry combined with his congeniality and wit make him a pleasure to work with. I consider him a friend and true pro.”
— Mark Sanborn, Speaker, Author and President, Sanborn & Associates, Inc.
“Don Pape is a champion of the arts in all forms. His eye for the extraordinary is matched only by his passion and ability to ensure great projects find life in the marketplace. More than this, Don’s compassion for the artist shows in all he says and does.”
— Bonnie Grove, bestselling author of Talking to the Dead and Time and Time Again
“Don Pape is known by all in the publishing industry as a true leader, serving others with honesty, humility, fairness, and compassion. Having had the privilege to work as an author under Don’s wings, I couldn’t have been more impressed with his character and work ethic. He’s a true author advocate who believes passionately in the power of story. I’ll be forever thankful that he dared to give my writing a chance, championing my little debut novel all the way to the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists! But I’m even more grateful that he’s remained a dear friend in the years that have followed.”
— Julie Cantrell, author of Into the Free