Hi all, I’m thrilled to begin building a list here at the Bent Agency. We already have an amazing roster of writers, and it will be my great pleasure to find talented authors of adult literary fiction, science-fiction and nonfiction to join under the Bent Agency banner.
You can learn a little bit more about me here, and take a look at the agency’s submission guidelines here. For those considering sharing your work with me, the following should give you a good sense of my overall tastes.
In general, I’m most intrigued by fiction that:
· Is smart, edgy, and dark
· Is timely (particularly politically)
· Features an unreliable narrator
· Is atmospheric and gritty
· Delves into conspiracy theories
· Features down-and-out characters (especially from the South), but crafts them so that they
exist well beyond stereotype
· Has a charged sense of hyper-realism
· Offers a character-driven story with a sweeping, historical scope
· Evokes a sense of internal and/or civil unrest
· Treats the lives of regular people as though they existed on a grand scale
With that said, here’s some of the fiction that I love:
· STONER by John Williams
· ALL THE KING’S MEN by Robert Penn Warren
· THE SHIPPING NEWS by Annie Proulx
· BARKSKINS by Annie Proulx
· COMING THROUGH SLAUGHTER by Michael Ondaatje
· SUTTREE by Cormac McCarthy
· FAY by Larry Brown
· THE OPTIMIST’S DAUGHTER by Eudora Welty
· ABSALOM, ABSALOM! by William Falkner
· THE SOUND OF THINGS FALLING by Juan Gabriel Vasquez
· 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
· A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS by Marlon James
· CIVILWARLAND IN BAD DECLINE by George Saunders
· THE DISPOSSESSED by Ursula Le Guin
· THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood
· WHITE NOISE by Don DeLillo
As far as nonfiction goes, I’m looking for books that:
· Help us understand the world
· Showcase hard truths
· Uplift and enlighten us
Some of the titles that have most affected me include:
· THE WORST HARD TIME by Timothy Egan
· FACTORY MAN by Beth Macy
· ALL THE SHAH’S MEN by Stephen Kinzer
· KING LEOPOLD’S GHOST by Adam Hochschild
· RIVER OF DOUBT by Candice Millard
· THE ASCENT OF MONEY by Niall Ferguson
· THE POWER BROKER by Robert Caro
· DIRTY WARS by Jeremy Scahill
· THE LOOMING TOWER by Lawrence Wright
· CONSIDER THE LOBSTER AND OTHER ESSAYS by David Foster Wallace
· OUTLIERS by Malcom Gladwell
· MONEYBALL by Michael Lewis
· BARBARIAN DAYS by William Finnegan
For anyone curious about my tastes beyond books, I enjoy:
· Literally every one of the Coen brothers’ films
· Westworld
· Mr. Robot
· The Wire
· Hypernormalisation
· Citizen Four
· Ex-Machina
· All of Wes Anderson’s films (but not equally, and yes, it’s true)
Alternatively, here’s a short list of what I’m NOT interested in:
· Epic, high fantasy
· Space opera (I like science-fiction, but the kind that’s geared towards the near future and
is also technology-based.)
· Stories that romanticize a particular time or place
· Stories that primarily explore the lives of college students
If you have something you think I’ll like, I’m currently open to queries and invite you to query me at bowersqueries@thebentagency.com. I’m very much looking forward to the stories you have to send me.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read!
John
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