Rowan joined The Soho Agency in 2019 after almost two decades in the industry. She started her agenting career at WME and latterly ran Furniss Lawton, which was the literary division of YMU. Her authors are Sunday Times, Kindle, Apple and Audible #1 bestsellers and have been awarded and shortlisted for literary prizes including the British Book Awards, the CWA Daggers, the Irish Book Awards, the Sunday Times Sports Book Award and Romantic Novel of the Year. She has also been involved in the judging of a number of fiction prizes including Richard & Judy ‘Search for a Bestseller’, the Bristol Short Story Prize and the Blue Pencil First Novel Award. Rowan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2012.
Rowan’s taste ranges from commercial well-written genre fiction – particularly rom coms, crime and thrillers – to accessible, page-turning literary and reading group novels, as well as narrative non-fiction (often, but not always, written by women) – including moving and inspiring upmarket memoirs and narrative personal development.
In fiction Rowan is a sucker for a love story, especially one with a twist (the more daring the better) and/or those that are sweeping in scope. They could be contemporary or set against an historical backdrop – preferably Victorian or 20th Century onwards. She loves high concept contemporary romance and romantic comedy, especially if it has a strong voice. She is looking for tightly plotted crime novels featuring female leads and compelling plots. If they’re regional, even better. Rowan is particularly interested in novels that use the crime and thriller genre to explore broader social issues. She is also drawn to conversation starting novels that hit on moral or emotional issues – those novels that you just can’t stop talking about. Stories that centre around emotional family drama, single or solo parenthood, diverse families and multi-generational ensemble novels are also likely to be up her street. If your book makes her cry (or cry laughing), then you have probably found your agent.
View Rowan’s Pinterest page to learn more about her taste here.
Out of the office and when not reading Rowan can be found cooking, drinking the occasional whiskey and having a kitchen disco with her daughter.
Rowan is assisted by Zoë Parrish. She also works closely with Associate Agent, Eleanor Lawlor.
