Hey Fam,
Welcome to a special LEVERAGE-themed edition of FIELD RESEARCH!
This issue is your one-stop shop for all things related to my forthcoming debut novel, including the cover design, blurbs, pre-order links, and more. I’ve pinned this post to my newsletter’s homepage and will provide updates as additional information becomes available.
Enjoy the show.
The Cover
AG’s thoughts: During the revision process, Peter Borland, my fantastic editor, graciously asked if I had any specific cover concepts in mind. I told him I liked simple color palettes, with clean designs, and I envisioned a play on the word “leverage” featuring a MAD MEN-inspired silhouette.
The brilliant team at Atria Books produced this absolute banger on the first shot!
The Hook
For readers of Percival Everett and viewers of INDUSTRY, a hotshot hedge fund employee must risk everything to save his job—and his life—in this timely and darkly funny thriller about race, power, and the corrupting influence of the almighty dollar.
Ali “Al” Jafar is a rising star at notorious hedge fund Prism Capital, but fortunes change fast on Wall Street. When his biggest investment goes up in smoke, Al loses $300 million—and his fragile sense of self-worth—in a single afternoon. He’s certain he’ll be fired, but Prism’s obscenely rich and politically connected founder isn’t that merciful. Instead, he gives Al an impossible ultimatum: recover the lost money in three months or become the fall guy for the government’s insider-trading investigation into the firm.
Depressed and desperate, Al turns to high finance’s dark side, where he battles back-stabbing coworkers and cutthroat competitors and digs himself into an even deeper hole. As the clock winds down, and the pressure mounts, Al’s mental health deteriorates. To survive, he’ll have to outfox one of the world’s most powerful men and decide if he values the dearest asset of all: himself.
AG’s thoughts: This is, more or less, the same “hook” I used in my query letter while pitching literary agents. A version of this copy also appeared in my Publisher’s Marketplace deal announcement last spring.
The Blurbs
“I love a good Wall Street thriller, but I especially love one with this kind of depth and nuance. Amran is a sharp and funny, often surprisingly moving writer.”
— CATHERINE BAAB, author of POE FOR YOUR PROBLEMS (Hachette, 2021)
“LEVERAGE is a wild ride that is, at various turns, funny, dark, and heart-wrenching. This thriller will make you burn through the pages and revel in twist after twist. By the end, you’ll leave satisfied, entertained, and in possession of a far greater understanding of both the Wu-Tang Clan's discography and what can happen when capitalistic greed is stretched to its furthest extremes.”
— ANDREW BORYGA, author of VICTIM (Doubleday, 2024)
“No one else is doing what Amran is. He’s smarter than funny people, funnier than smart people, and has more heart and edge than both.”
— DENNARD DAYLE, author of HOW TO DODGE A CANNONBALL (Holt, 2025)
“Told in a dazzling, wildly assured narrative voice, LEVERAGE is a by turns tense and hilarious thriller set against the backdrop of a financial crisis which doubles as a sly dissection of the exploitation and structural inequity buttressing that very system. Amran Gowani’s debut—part social satire, part tale of self-discovery, and part love letter to hip hop culture—announces the arrival of a writer to be reckoned with.”
— ELIZABETH MCCULLOUGH KEENAN and GREG WANDS, international bestselling authors of TRUST ISSUES (Dutton, 2025)
“Fast and funny, appalling and appalled, LEVERAGE absolutely nails the rats-eating-each-other vibe of the post-Great-Recession, pre-Trump era. Al Jafar—who knows hedge funds like Ishmael knows whales, like Dante knows Hell—is among the most entertaining voices in recent fiction.”
— MARTIN SEAY, author of THE MIRROR THIEF (Melville House, 2016)
AG’s thoughts: I feel incredibly fortunate to have received such incredible praise from such an incredible collection of authors. Once I’m compost, put these on my epitaph.
The Author
Amran Gowani is a former organic chemist, financial analyst, and business journalist.
By drawing upon his decade-plus of surreal and disturbing experiences in the corporate world — and leveraging his lifelong love of film, literature, and video games — he crafted his blistering debut novel LEVERAGE. The story will be published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, on August 19, 2025.
Amran also pens the fan favorite newsletter FIELD RESEARCH, which features informative and entertaining takes at the intersection of art, business, and culture.
When he’s not hanging out with imaginary people in imaginary places, Amran enjoys hiking and biking with his amazing wife Felicia, reading comic books with his two spoiled and deeply ungrateful children, and catching cult classic films at Chicago’s Music Box Theater.
AG’s thoughts: I tried to strike the appropriate balance between narcissistic sociopath and loving husband and father. How’d I do?
Pre-order Links
I hope the information above has inspired you to purchase and read a copy of LEVERAGE!
For better and worse, pre-orders play a huge role in the commercial success of a novel. If customers demonstrate early interest, publishers are more willing to invest in marketing and promotion and retailers are more likely to purchase large order volumes. All pre-orders also count toward “week one” sales, which influences “best-seller” lists and generates buzz within the reader community.
This self-fulfilling prophecy is part of the publishing game, so if you’re planning to purchase LEVERAGE — thank you! — snagging a pre-order can make a big impact.
Here are pre-order links for several major retailers:
If you love Jeff Bezos, pre-order from Amazon.
If you love huge corporations masquerading as purveyors of chic, affordable, family friendly style, pre-order from Target1.
If you love big corporations masquerading as independent bookstores, pre-order from Barnes & Noble.
If you love off-brand chain stores, pre-order from Books-A-Million.
If you love to support independent bookstores, pre-order from Bookshop.org.
If you love audiobooks (and Jeff Bezos), Audible pre-orders should be available next spring.
Of course, you can also place pre-orders at your local bookstore to help them compete with the big dogs.
Of note, large retailers like B&N tend to offer hefty pre-order discounts (e.g., 40% off the cover price) closer to publication day, so if you’re cost conscious you should hold off. I’ll keep everyone posted as deals emerge.
Finally, I’ll work with my publisher and several local bookstores to sign physical copies to be delivered by mail. If you’re interested in one of those, please wait for more details.
BONUS FEATURES
The Soundtrack
Nineties hip hop features prominently in LEVERAGE and fans of the genre will find plenty of easter eggs and homages throughout the narrative. I created an unofficial “soundtrack” for the novel which everyone can access via Apple Music or Spotify.
Warning: Lyrics very NSFW.
The Journey
The following posts, which are free to read and among my most popular ever, chronicle my path from mid-life crisis to Big Five book deal. I hope you’ll check them out.
I launched FIELD RESEARCH on May 7, 2022 — a date which will live in infamy.
In this November 25, 2022 essay I celebrated an entire year of writing online.
I finished the first draft of LEVERAGE on May 16, 2023.
On November 10, 2023, I wrote a celebratory post confirming I’d secured multiple offers of representation from literary agents.
My five-year retrospective — from a nobody with a pipe dream to a nobody with a literary agent — was published on November 24, 2023.
I announced my incredible deal for LEVERAGE on April 2, 2024.
Published on April 13, 2024, I shared the semi-serious, semi-satirical playbook which banked me a Big Five book deal.
THE SAGA CONTINUES
It’s been a wild ride, Fam, and the fun’s just getting started. I greatly, deeply, sincerely appreciate all the love and support you’ve shown me over the past three years.
Stay tuned, and stay frosty.
Amran
Target often runs “Circle” deals where you can snag a nice discount.