James McGowan

Literary Agent
(he/him/his)

James McGowan (he/him) is a literary agent at BookEnds Literary Agency, representing award-winning authors and illustrators across age ranges and genres.  Over the past decade, James has worked across all departments at BookEnds–including the social media and finance departments–which informs his tactical approach to representing clients. He is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents and has worked on several committees within the organization. James currently lives in Staten Island, where he graduated with a Master’s in literature from the College of Staten Island. He is the author of the picture book GOOD NIGHT, OPPY! To learn more about his work, visit the BookEnds website or his website. To send a query, please only use QueryManager.  Watch our interview with James on YouTube!

Client Books

ISeeColor+hc+c
Wiley,+Homegrown
Version 1.0.0
Cusolito, Diving Deep
Sydney's Big Speech
Rafi, A Mermaid Girl
Smith, You Always Come Back
Klagmann, This Impossible Brightness
Scharnhorst,+How+to+Get+Your+Octopus+to+School
Harmony, A Flicker of Hope
Lourenc¦ºo, Counting to Bananas
Lavoie, Vampire Vacation JPG
Together+We+Swim
Perrott, MooHoo
Kulekjian, Kaboom

James McGowan Wishlist

James represents a wide range of age groups and genres, but at this time, he is focused on building his adult list only.  In adult fiction, James is seeking upmarket/book club fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense and thrillers. In all genres, James is looking for works from diverse, marginalized, and/or underrepresented voices. Broadly, things he is drawn to in a novel are: commercial, high concept plots, exciting settings, strong characters you could follow anywhere, fast pacing, a fresh spin on a familiar trope, something to say about the world or culture without being too heavy-handed, grounded speculative elements and/or accessible world-building, unique magical elements, rich prose, twists you can't see coming (or ones you enjoy anyway, if you do), books that blend genre, and a sentence that sticks with you. Titles and authors that inspire James’ list include, in no particular order: Upmarket/Book Club: True Biz, Memphis, Portrait of a Thief, Pachinko, Free Food for Millionaires, My Sister the Serial Killer, Miracle Creek, Lessons in Chemistry, Real Americans, Emily St. John Mandel Mystery/Suspense/Thriller: The Push, Listen for the Lie, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, The Overnight Guest, I Have Some Questions for You, More Than You'll Ever Know, The Golden Couple, What Lies in the Woods, Only If You're Lucky, House of Glass, Night Watching, Tana French, Attica Locke, Kia Abdullah, Mary Kubica, Wanda M. Morris, Liz Moore Fantasy/Speculative: Ninth House, The Stardust Thief, The School for Good Mothers, Masquerade, Babel, The Will of the Many, Godkiller, The Familiar, S.A. Chakraborty, Sabaa Tahir, R.F. Kuang, NK Jemisin, Fonda Lee, Pierce Brown James is eager to find the next novel that everyone is reading and recommending. He keeps an open mind when reading, so when in doubt, send a query. To submit, please visit Query Manager.

Pin It on Pinterest