Sharlene Martin, Founder of MLM
Senior Literary Manager/Executive Producer
Sharlene was raised in Connecticut where, after attending college, she got the entrepreneurial bug. Sharlene was recognized with the title of Entrepreneur of the Year by the Connecticut Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneur Magazine for the first business she created. She was also honored and presented with the Spirited Woman Award in New York City in 1987 by Sherry Lansing for supporting women in the workplace. Sharlene sold her company when she moved to California in 1990 and spent several years at various key creative positions in the entertainment industry while raising her two children. In 2003, after a meeting with a screenwriter/author (who later became her husband!) she was encouraged to form her own literary agency.
Sharlene primarily represents adult nonfiction and represents some of the top true crime books in publishing. She conducts her clients with a strict policy that any crime-related book she represents must always be told to benefit the victim, never the perpetrator.
Many of Sharlene's authors have had their books boosted as serial reprints in prestigious publications such as Readers' Digest, People Magazine, WHO, and the London Times. Other client appearances include 60 Minutes, The TODAY Show, The View, Fox and Friends, Good Morning America, The Early Show, 20/20, 48 Hours, Discovery Channel, Inside Edition, The 700 Club, ET, The Insider, ABC Nightline, Dr. Phil, Anderson Cooper 360, CNN, HLN, Discovery ID and Fox News and the former OPRAH show.
She is actively doing business with major film and TV companies for adaptations of her clients' books and shares the MLM Book to Film-TV Rights Catalog with key people in the entertainment industry on a quarterly basis. It’s also updated with new sales weekly at www.MartinLit.com/film-tv. Sharlene is a member of the Producers Guild of America (pga), and has adapted numerous books from MLMN clients
Some of her producing credits include:
*Executive Producer of Lifetime’s movie, The Pregnancy Project, which garnered the two top
Imagen Awards, for Best Primetime Movie/Special and Best Actress (Alexa Vega). Currently streaming
on HULU.
*Co- Creator/Producer of the reality series, DEADLY SINS for Discovery ID. Ran six seasons.
*Co-EP for the season of specials, EPIC MYSTERIES for Discovery ID.
*Executive Producer for Apple TV+ straight to series one-hour scripted highly acclaimed mystery, HOME BEFORE DARK, directed and executive produced by Jon M. Chu (WICKED-2024), based on her client, Hilde Lysiak, a 14-year-old crime reporter and publisher of the Orange Street News, and author of the Scholastic Branches six book series, Hilde Cracks the Case.
*Executive Producer on Secrets of a Marine’s Wife for Sony Television at Lifetime.
She is currently in development on a number of projects based on her clients’ books and enjoys collaborating with screenwriters, producers, directors and production companies. See full credits at www.IMDB.com (Sharlene Martin (1) )
Additionally, she is co-author with her husband, bestselling author Anthony Flacco, on the books Publish Your Nonfiction Book (Writer's Digest Books) and Literary Fails: Totally (sic)!
Publishers, editors, writers and entertainment execs consistently express their joy in working with someone who is such an avid fan of great writing and an enthusiastic guardian and representative of her clients' work. She employs this personal touch in all her business relationships and credits it with her proven record of success.
Follow Sharlene at Facebook, Instagram and Threads.