Jemiscoe Chambers-Black

Jemiscoe Chambers-Black is a co-founder of Starling Literary + Media and a literary agent who loves championing storytellers across age categories. Her love of reading started in a very on-brand way: with pizza. At seven, her school handed out personal pan pizza coupons for every book read, and Jem was instantly hooked. Pretty soon, she wanted the stories more than the slices.

Before becoming an agent, Jem spent over a decade as an Assistant Director in film and television, where she learned how character, tension, and timing make a story work, skills she brings to her work with creators every day. She later shifted her focus to publishing, building her career as a literary agent before co-founding Starling Literary + Media in 2025 with her colleagues and friends, Paige Terlip and Jennifer March Soloway. She currently serves as the co-Vice President of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA). A true generalist, she represents authors and illustrators creating picture books, chapter books, middle grade, YA, adult fiction, and graphic novels.