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LEVERAGE: A NOVEL

Your one-stop shop for all things LEVERAGE. Dropping August 19, 2025.

THE COVER

It's a banger.
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 in Spring 2024.
This is my deal announcement. There are many like it but this one is mine.

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

“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

“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

“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

“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

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 – Amran crafted his blistering debut novel LEVERAGE. The story will be published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, on August 19, 2025.

Amran is also a prolific content creator, and since December 2021 has produced 175 humorous personal essays and satirical short-form pieces. His entire collection and cult favorite email newsletter can be found at www.amrangowani.com.

When he’s not hanging out with imaginary people in imaginary places, Amran enjoys biking and bouldering 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?
This is me pretending to be well-adjusted.

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, snagging a pre-order can make a big impact.

Here are pre-order links for several major retailers:

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.

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.