Hellebore: How We Got Our Name
Since they were first pointed out to me, I’ve always loved hellebores. I like that their name is simultaneously elegant and rather brusque, I like their mythological and medicinal histories, and I like that they’re one of the few flowers to bloom continuously throughout late winter. They’re unassuming in a way, but once you notice them, you notice them everywhere. There’s something compelling about their gothic petals and their range of muted yet saturated colors.
The idea to start our own literary agency—an unconventional one, at that—took shape in the winter of 2025. It was characteristically cold and wet in the months we balanced full time jobs, graduate degrees, and the ever-relentless grind of finding our place in the publishing sphere. As the idea to try and carve out our own corner in publishing began to feel less abstract, the four of us started meeting more regularly, circling the question of whether this was even feasible. At times, the idea felt like a kind of madness.
As it turns out, hellebore was historically used to treat madness, supposedly a way to restore people to their senses. We named our agency Hellebore not only for the flower’s hardiness and persistence under difficult conditions, but for its role as a kind of antidote. The name is a small charm against the chaos we knowingly stepped into. It reflects both the disorder we embrace and the belief that, when it becomes overwhelming, we have the resources and knowledge to come back to ourselves. I encourage you all to add a little hellebore to your winter; go outside, they’re all around. ✿
