A woman with short red hair, wearing hoop earrings and a black top, smiling and posing against a dark blue background with white papers flying around her.

Jessica Faust

PRESIDENT & FOUNDER

Colorful, stylized bird with a blue outline, green inner wing, orange body, and a small tail.

  • In 1999, Jessica Faust founded BookEnds because she loved working in publishing, but also wanted to do things her own way — creating an agency that prides itself on bringing more underrepresented and marginalized voices into publishing.

    Jessica is no longer taking on new clients, instead focusing her attention on supporting and growing the BookEnds team and working in new and innovative ways to continue to build careers for all of our clients.

    Jessica began her career as an acquisitions editor at Berkley Publishing, Macmillan, and Wiley. In addition to nearly 15 years of blogging, Jessica has had a regular role on the BookEnds YouTube channel, Instagram account, and Tiktok; has taught at New York University’s Continuing Education Program; written a publishing column; and has been honored by several different publishing organizations. Jessica is also a member of AALA.

    While her heart will always be in Minnesota, Jessica now lives in New Jersey. Outside of BookEnds, her passions include kettlebell lifting, walking Olive, skiing, paddle boarding, cooking, traveling, reading other people’s books, and generally laughing with friends and family.

    Watch our interview with Jessica on YouTube!

  • Jessica has a passion for finding more books written by underrepresented and marginalized voices as well as stories that support, inspire, and empower women. Her fiction list focuses on suspense, mystery, magical realism, romance, and upmarket women's, book club, and speculative fiction. In nonfiction, she is seeking books that make her a better person, specifically fresh perspectives on race and feminism, personal development, self-help, and business.

    Jessica is particularly drawn to stories about women, family, and friendships that explore her love of books, food, dogs, magic, and fairy tales – these can be dark and mysterious or fun, light, and quirky. Her current wishlist includes fun romantic comedies and mysteries – an added element of paranormal and magic is a bonus. On the flip side, she always loves dark thrillers, suspense, and upmarket books with a feminist perspective. She loves a book with a strong hook or high-concept idea in all genres. Something that from one sentence your sucked in and want to read more.

    Some favorite reads that both inspired and informed her list include WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS, CHEMISTRY LESSONS, MRS. QUINN'S RISE TO FAME, THE DEAD ROMANTICS, THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME, THE PUSH, Sarah Addison Allen, and anything like Kevan Kwan.

    Jessica (along with James) regularly discusses their recent reads on YouTube where you can see what she’s most excited about and what latest reads are informing her list. You can also get a sense of the books she's reading and representing by following her on Instagram or seeing what she's up to on TikTok.

SUBMIT A QUERY

Client Books

  • Book cover for 'What Happens in the Dark' by Kia Abdullah, featuring a dark blue and green cityscape background with bold lime green and white text.
  • Book cover of 'Invasive Species' by Ellery Adams, featuring pink tentacled creatures surrounding the title, with a green and black striped background, a small yellow house, and a sailboat.
  • Book cover of 'Witches of Honeysuckle House' by Liz Parker, featuring floral and bee illustrations surrounding a keyhole shape with a house inside.
  • Book cover for "In the Beautiful Dark," a novel by Melissa Payne, featuring a dark blue background with light pink, yellow, and orange text.
  • Book cover illustration for 'Murder is a Piece of Cake' by Valerie Burns, featuring a woman with curly hair in an orange apron holding a slice of cake and a dog wearing a pink collar with a pearl charm, set against a colorful background with cakes and a blue sky.
  • Nighttime view of a house with illuminated windows, featuring the book title 'Perfect Little Lives' in pink handwritten font and authors Amber and Danielle Brown.
  • A colorful illustration of a garden outdoor setting with a table filled with an assortment of food, bread, cheese, fruits, and flowers. There is a cat sitting on a chair next to the table, and the background features trees and a sunset sky. The image is a book cover for 'The Diva Goes Overboard' by Krista Davis.
  • Book cover titled 'A Long Dark Night' by Lilli Sutton, featuring a snowy scene with a small cabin and trees, under a starry night sky.
  • Illustration of a man and woman looking through binoculars, with the background featuring a city skyline. The image promotes the book titled 'Definitely Maybe Not a Detective' by Sarah Fox.
  • Book cover titled 'The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium' by Lexie Sharabianlou, featuring an illustration of a cozy, mystical café with a large window, plants, a woman sitting inside near a tree and autumn leaves on the floor.
  • Book cover titled 'Tell Me You Trust Me' by Elle Owens, featuring a dark background with neon-like red and green streaks and a glowing house in the center.
  • Book cover for "The Magic of Chamomile Cottage" by Heather Webber. Features a floating teacup decorated with blue floral patterns spilling colorful flowers and butterflies into a dark, dreamy background with glowing orbs.