Jim McCarthy, Literary Agent Jim McCarthy is an active literary agent at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC. He is currently closed to unsolicited queries but states that the closure is temporary and that he plans to reopen.
About Jim McCarthy
Jim McCarthy is a Vice President and Senior Agent at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC. He joined the agency as an intern while studying urban design at New York University and ultimately chose a career in publishing, remaining with DG&B for more than two decades. He represents literary and commercial fiction across adult, young adult, and middle-grade categories, along with selected narrative nonfiction.
McCarthy is particularly interested in literary fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, underrepresented voices, and unusual or unexpected projects with a strong emotional impact. His nonfiction interests include memoir, history, and pop culture, and he has specifically indicated that he would like to see more children's nonfiction.
Jim McCarthy
Submission Address
Submissions should be emailed to jmccarthy@dystel.com
Submitting Your Work to Jim McCarthy
Before submitting to Jim McCarthy
The Market List recommends you verify the query and/or submission guidelines for each literary agent and literary agency before sending a query or submitting your manuscript. Most agencies require a completed manuscript prior to queries or submissions. Review and verify the agency requirements for working with new or unpublished writers as well as their specific areas of interest.
If you have recently submitted to Jim McCarthy, please submit a comment below.
Submission Guidelines Details for Jim McCarthy and Dystel, Goderich & Bourret
Query only one Dystel, Goderich & Bourret agent at a time. If that agent passes, you may then query another agent at the agency. Michael Bourret, Jim McCarthy, Lauren Abramo, Sharon Pelletier, Michaela Whatnall, Gracie Freeman Lifschutz, and René Kooiker accept submissions only through QueryManager. Other agents accept queries by email using the address listed on their individual profile.
For fiction, include your query letter and the first 25 pages of the completed, polished manuscript. For nonfiction, include your query letter, proposal, and a sample chapter. Email submissions should be pasted into the body of the message rather than sent as attachments.
Picture book submissions should include the complete manuscript and, when available, a dummy or sample artwork. Graphic novel writers should submit the first 25 pages of the script. Author-illustrators should also include approximately 10 illustrated pages. PDF attachments for picture books and graphic novels may be included and should be no larger than 20MB. The agency does not accept illustrator-only submissions.
Do not submit more than one project at a time, send shared-file or download links, or query an unfinished novel. Do not pitch or follow up by telephone or social media.
The agency aims to respond to queries within eight weeks. If you have not received a response after eight weeks, you may resend the query and note the date of the original submission.
Query Letter: Keep the query concise, professional, personalized, and free of gimmicks. Include the project title, genre, word count, comparable titles or authors, a brief pitch, and relevant biographical information or credentials. The agency also recommends briefly explaining why you chose to query that particular agent.
Market Types Represented: Adult, Young Adult and Middle Grade Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction
Email: jmccarthy@dystel.com
Web Address: www.dystel.com
Hints
Submissions should be emailed to jmccarthy@dystel.com. Please query via Query Manager at https://QueryManager.com/JimMcCarthy. Do not send attachments with your query email. ([dystel.com](https://www.dystel.com/jim-mccarthy?utm_source=openai))