Mr. Jim McCarthy
Dystel Goderich & Bourret LLC
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General
Jim McCarthy
Dystel Goderich & Bourret LLC
One Union Square West, Suite 904
New York, NY 10003
- Website:
- www.dystel.com
- AALA Member:
- Yes (Visit Site)
Query Methods
Accepts queries via...
Genres
This agent is seeking the following genres:
Fiction
Action/Adventure
Chick Lit
Children's
Commercial
Contemporary
Family Saga
Fantasy
• Fantasy, Contemporary/Urban
• Fantasy, Magical Realism
Graphic Novel
Historical
Horror
Humor/Satire
LGBTQ+
Literary Fiction
Middle Grade
• Middle Grade, Contemporary
• Middle Grade, Fantasy
• Middle Grade, Historical
• Middle Grade, Literary
• Middle Grade, Mystery
• Middle Grade, Science Fiction
Multicultural
Mystery
Offbeat/Quirky
Romance
• Romance, Category
• Romance, Contemporary
• Romance, Historical
• Romance, Paranormal
• Romance, Thriller/Suspense
Short Story Collections
Thrillers/Suspense
Upmarket
Women's Fiction
Young Adult
• Young Adult, Contemporary
• Young Adult, Fantasy
• Young Adult, Historical
• Young Adult, Literary
• Young Adult, Mystery
• Young Adult, Paranormal
• Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
• Young Adult, Romance
• Young Adult, Science Fiction
Non-Fiction
Art/Photography
Biography
Cultural/Social Issues
Current Affairs/Politics
History
Journalism
Juvenile/Graphic
LGBTQ+
Memoir
Multicultural
Narrative
Pop Culture
Psychology
Travel
Women's Issues
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Known Clients (current & past)
Jade Adia
Michael Arceneaux
Livia Blackburne
Julia Blackwell
Jessica Brody
Mary Carter
Laura Creedle
Alyssa Day
Fallon Demornay
Sean Easley
Eric Gansworth
Rory Harrison
Mark Henry
Geoff Herbach
Ramsey Hootman
Lee Houck
Kosoko Jackson
Aminata Jaiteh
Serena Kaylor
Phoebe Kitanidis
Katrina Kwan
Remy Lai
Victoria Laurie
Fonda Lee
Shawntelle Madison
Joy McCullough
Richelle Mead
Tehlor Kay Mejia
Saundra Mitchell
Rebecca Mix
Candice Montgomery
Cynthia Platt
Gae Polisner
Morgan Rhodes
Caroline Richmond
Michelle Rowen
Carrie Ryan
Barb Schwarz
Mindi Scott
Kevin Scott
David Sears
Tess Sharpe
Laura Silverman
Lauren Spieller
Jessica Spotswood
Margaret C. Sullivan
Robin Talley
Diana Urban
Christine Virnig
Author Comments
Comments by authors about this agent.
egmaddox
08/21/2025 08:52 PM
He typically responds within 4 days. Its been 3 weeks, how do you "Nudge"?
LightofBeauty
08/21/2025 02:41 PM
Yeah, by what I can tell, Jim is a kid/teen lit agent who mostly wants YA and MG and whose list is predominantly in the YA and kidlit space, which is fine, but he should probably revise his MSWL/"wants" to reflect that. He's not as "open to all genres" or whatever as he tries to make it seem. It would save a lot of time for querying writers if he'd just own his taste for YA/MG so people who're querying with adult and literary fiction can query elsewhere.
zariablossoms
08/21/2025 11:25 AM
Q: 13/08/25
FR: 20/08/25
YA Fantasy Fairytale retelling (93k)
"Thank you for thinking of me. Unfortunately, I don't believe that I'm a match for this project at present. I thank you, sincerely, for the chance to consider your work, and I wish you all the best of luck with it."
The rejection took longer than expected given his quick response rate, so I'm hoping that he actually read it. But I realized he particularly wants contemporary & magical realism in fantasy, not fairytale retellings.
FR: 20/08/25
YA Fantasy Fairytale retelling (93k)
"Thank you for thinking of me. Unfortunately, I don't believe that I'm a match for this project at present. I thank you, sincerely, for the chance to consider your work, and I wish you all the best of luck with it."
The rejection took longer than expected given his quick response rate, so I'm hoping that he actually read it. But I realized he particularly wants contemporary & magical realism in fantasy, not fairytale retellings.
writethrowclay
08/20/2025 08:46 AM
for wsolent: I believe I read somewhere in my agent research (I could be wrong) that Jim is looking specifically to cover a children's non-fiction book right now. So given that he gets about 900 queries a month, it makes sense that he's doing a major purge of his inbox. My manuscript fell victim to it as well.
Agent Interviews
Interviews with this agent from across the web.
Success Story Interviews
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Profile History
- Last Update:
- 06/22/2025 - Open to queries.
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Q: 18/08/25
FR: 19/08/25