Meet Our Team

Storytelling is a collaborative process.

BookEnds is a collective of literary agents and rights professionals, as well as a financial, operations, marketing, and administrative team that works collaboratively to serve our clients. Together we are responsible for licensing our clients’ work domestically, internationally, as well as finding opportunities in various media types like film, tv, audio, and merchandising. We believe it’s through our close collaboration that we best manage and grow our clients’ careers.

Click a button below to learn more about each respective department.

Agents
Executive
Rights Licensing
Operations

Agents

BookEnds is the home to the industry’s top literary agents, representing authors and illustrators for all ages and genres. Our agents are passionate advocates for their clients, working closely to develop compelling manuscripts and artwork, negotiate strong publishing deals, and build long-term, successful careers. Our agents work with New York Times, USA Today, and Sunday Times bestselling books, critically acclaimed and award-winning authors, and secure deals with major publishers around the world. With decades of combined industry experience, deep editorial expertise, and a collaborative, client-first approach, the BookEnds team is dedicated to helping authors navigate the ever-evolving publishing landscape and achieve lasting success.

  • A woman with short reddish hair, wearing a black V-neck top and brown skirt, sitting on a chair with one leg crossed over the other, smiling and appearing joyful. There are several sheets of white paper flying around her against a plain dark blue background.

    Jessica Faust

    CEO & Founder
    (she/her)

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  • A woman with wavy brown hair and blue eyes smiling, wearing a white lace top with buttons, earrings, and light makeup, standing outdoors with a blurred background.

    Kim Lionetti

    Senior Literary Agent
    (she/her)

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  • Close-up of a woman with glasses and short brown hair, smiling outdoors on a sunny day, with green trees and a house in the background.

    Jessica Alvarez

    Senior Literary Agent
    (she/her)

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  • A woman with long brown hair, glasses, and hoop earrings smiling in front of a green leafy background.

    Rachel Brooks

    Senior Literary Agent
    (she/her)

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  • Close-up of a person with short brown hair, wearing glasses, smiling, and dressed in a colorful, patterned shirt.

    Naomi Davis

    Senior Literary Agent
    (they/she)

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  • A young man with glasses, wearing a blue zip-up jacket over a button-up shirt, sitting against a dark blue background, smiling at the camera.

    James McGowan

    Senior Literary Agent
    (he/him)

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  • A young woman with long dark hair, wearing a gray sweater, taking a selfie in front of a beige wallpaper background with a floral pattern.

    Emily Forney

    Senior Literary Agent
    (she/her)

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  • Close-up of a smiling woman with curly brown hair outdoors surrounded by green foliage.

    Amanda Jain

    Literary Agent
    (she/her)

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  • A smiling person with curly dark hair, wearing glasses, a nose ring, and colorful earrings, standing outdoors with trees in the background.

    Allegra Martschenko

    Literary Agent
    (they/them)

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  • A young man with red hair and beard smiling outdoors in front of green trees and flowering bushes, wearing a maroon sweater.

    Keifer Ludwig

    Literary Agent
    (he/him)

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  • A woman with long wavy dark hair and bangs smiling at the camera, sitting in front of a white brick wall and a bookshelf with various books.

    Sophie Sheumaker

    Associate Agent
    (she/her)

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  • A young woman with long dark hair, wearing round glasses and a brown turtleneck sweater, smiling at the camera against a dark blue background.

    Layla Fallah

    Literary Assistant
    (she/they)

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Executive Team

The BookEnds executive team is the visionary force behind the agency’s shared vision and goals, providing the strategic leadership that drives our continued growth and success. CEO Jessica Faust founded the agency with the belief that an agent’s top priority is advocating for creators and actively works to ensure BookEnds remains true to its original vision. James McGowan oversees the agency’s children’s publishing arm, BookEnds Jr, and is focused on supporting our agents in their representation of the market’s top authors and illustrators. Together, the executive team fiercely supports our agents, strengthens industry relationships, and guides the agency through the evolving publishing landscape.

  • A woman with short reddish hair, wearing a black V-neck top and brown skirt, sitting on a chair with one leg crossed over the other, smiling and appearing joyful. There are several sheets of white paper flying around her against a dark blue backdrop.

    Jessica & James

    CEO & Director of BookEnds Jr
    (she/her) | (he/him)

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  • A woman with dark curly hair smiling, wearing hoop earrings and a purple and orange patterned dress, standing indoors in front of a wall with colorful illustrations of women.

    Marie Durham

    Executive Assistant
    (she/her)

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  • A white dog with a black mask around one eye, sitting indoors on a wooden floor, with a window in the background and a dark radiator behind.

    Olive

    Literary Dog
    (she/her)

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Rights Licensing

The rights department at BookEnds oversees submission and sales for foreign, film, television, merchandise, audio, art licensing, and all other media rights. Our in-house Global team plays a pivotal role in ensuring our books reach readers worldwide. Meanwhile, our media team works tirelessly to place our clients' books with the industry’s leading audio publishers, film studios, production companies, and top merchandising brands. Collectively our rights team is responsible for millions in sales annually. Their shared goal is to expand our clients’ brand beyond their physical book.

  • A woman with long dark hair and glasses, wearing a red coat and a striped shirt, sitting against a textured red wall.

    Ana Ban

    Global Rights Director
    (she/her)

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    Dakota Reed

    Media Rights Director
    (she/her)

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  • A young man with red hair and beard standing outdoors in front of green trees and white flowering bushes, wearing a burgundy sweater.

    Keifer Ludwig

    Audio Rights Manager
    (he/him)

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  • Close-up of a woman with long dark hair, smiling, against a white brick wall with a bookshelf filled with books in the background.

    Sophie Sheumaker

    Global Rights Assistant
    (she/her)

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Operations

Our operations team is the backbone of our agency and works tirelessly to ensure the agency’s daily and weekly operations are completed efficiently and timely. They oversee everything from client payments, royalty tracking, and contracts to social media and branding. We work closely with the industry’s leading contracts coordinator, Kasey Poserina, to ensure strong contract boilerplates with every publisher and carefully track payments and review royalty statements to ensure every aspect of the authors’ career is cared for. Our operations team allows our agents to ensure their number one priority can be effective representation of our clients. 

  • A woman with red hair pulled back, wearing a black top, a gray cardigan, and large earrings, smiling in a room with a wooden door and neutral-colored walls.

    Maggie Nambot

    Finance Manager &
    Literary Assistant to Kim Lionetti
    (she/her)

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    Sarah Butler

    Banking Assistant
    (she/her)

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  • A young woman with long wavy hair wearing glasses and a cozy beige knitted sweater, standing in front of bookshelves filled with various fiction and fantasy books.

    Kaitlyn Myers

    Literary Assistant to Jessica Alvarez
    (she/her)

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  • A woman with long brown hair, wearing a pearl necklace and a teal top, smiling against a white background.

    Kasey Poserina

    Contracts Coordinator
    (she/her)

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