Getting an agent, queer non-fiction, being bad at ceramics w/ Dan Jones
Conversations for a creative life + “It just felt like I was in the movies.”
Episode 4
Get it on Apple here.
New episode lands
My latest guest is Brooklyn-based Dan Jones, bestselling British author and collaborative writer. Dan’s written over 20 books, with Gin: Shake, Muddle, Stir selling over 200,000 copies translated into a dozen languages.
Longlisted for the Curtis Brown First Novel Award, Dan contributes to The New York Times' Wirecutter and specializes in everything from cocktails to fashion, interiors, travel, wellness, mythology, and LGBTQ culture.
With irreverent, well-informed takes on the writing life and the fast-paced bookish scene in NYC, you can find Dan giving The Washington Post hot takes on Princess Di’s style, in flow-mode at the Center for Fiction’s Writing Studio, or, like all the literary greats, at home with a beer watching Just like that.
Dan’s books for 2025: Yves Saint Laurent: Style Icon (Quadrille), and the paperback versions of Queer Heroes of Myth & Legend and Queer Villains of Myth & Legend (Radar/Hachette).
Dan’s Niche ID
Below, some choice themes (lightly edited) from our conversation.
On living in Brooklyn
I’ve always wanted to live here. I’ve loved it. And I still love it. My neighbourhood’s a bit traditional, really close to the water. It's higher up at the end of my street and there's a view of all of Manhattan. It looks a bit like that helicopter shot at the beginning of, any 90s movie. So every day, I’m kicking my heels with my takeaway coffee, and I’m just, “Oh, my God, look at that.”
On opportunities and networks
My work is a mixture of me really coming up with an idea and really trying to work on it. Against the odds, maybe, it’s come to some sort of success. Other times, I just get a WhatsApp where someone might say, “Hey, do you want to do a book about something.” And I'm like, “yeah.” And then that's a book, commissioned.
I can't pretend that all of this has come from me just forcing it through. It just comes from being a bit open. Maybe I’m being naive, it's probably through having some kind of network as well.
On moving continents
It felt really amazing to reset when I moved from London, and lived in Sydney, Australia, at the end of my 20s. Years later, I’d do the same and come to New York. I like that big reset of going somewhere new. It just feels incredible, like I’m in a movie the whole time.
On being bad at ceramics
It’s good for me to be doing a discipline where I’m just not talented, but I still really enjoy it. Everyone's doing their own thing and it's okay if you're the worst, because you're on your own little journey. I'm making a wonky vase because I've basically made a huge mistake on it. The people in my class are really supportive, and that always feels good. You get a lot of wonky ashtrays out of it.
On getting an agent
I signed up with this great agent at Apple Tree Literary called Max Edwards. He won a newcomer award a few years ago. For the first time, I was able to sit down with someone and manage my freelance career.
I was like, “This what I'm doing. But this is where I’d like to be. And actually, I picked up a book and said, I wanna do that. Like, why can't I do this type of book?” It was the hot queer non-fiction book of the summer. I said, “This book is everywhere and I wanna do something like this.”
Ultimately Max connected me with this incredible publisher, Briony Gowlett, who was at Hachette at the time with her own imprint, Radar books. That’s how my Queer Myths and Legends books came out.
On shaping your future
I’ve found more focus by having an agent. Just having those initial conversations about where my career was going was really useful.
I’d say that's great for anyone. Just to ask, “Where are you going with this? What do you want to be doing? What do you think is possible? How would you achieve that?”
Enjoyed this episode? Thank you. Comment, heart, share it with your friends.
Follow Niche ID on Spotify, and be the first to know when new episodes drop.