Gavin Phillips

Gavin Phillips is a Canadian-based author whose fiction explores the interior lives of people trying to survive themselves.

His novels — "Grace," "Dying to Live," and "A Little Unsteady, — follow characters shaped by grief, trauma, identity, and the slow, unglamorous work of becoming. A character-driven writer at his core, Phillips is drawn to deeply flawed, deeply human protagonists — the ones who are brilliant and broken, tender and self-sabotaging, reaching toward connection even when they don't quite know how.

His prose is lean, intimate, and unafraid of silence. From the sweeping, interconnected lives navigating generational trauma in his new upmarket epic, "Grace," through "Dying to Live," a terminally ill valedictorian road-tripping with the father she never really had, Phillips writes with unflinching honesty about the people most stories leave in the margins.

He lives in New Brunswick, Canada, with his wife and stepdaughter, and is currently at work on his next novel, “The Equation.”

Agent's note

In this business, genuine talent announces itself. A serendipitous digital exchange brought Gavin to my desk, and it became clear at once I had found a writer of undeniable caliber.

Now, seasoned and sharp, with three distinct novels forming a robust foundation. Yet, "Grace" marks a definitive evolution in his trajectory. This manuscript is an ambitious, heavy upmarket novel bridging the gap between fast commercial pacing literary weight. The narrative carries the momentum of a romance, yet it operates as an exploration of repressed trauma and psychological survival.

As with all his work, readers must brace themselves for Gavin’s signature architecture: sometimes an airtight, devastating twist might shatter the protagonist’s perceived reality.

Books

Agent's note