James Gould Cozzens (1903–1978) was an American novelist known for his disciplined prose and detailed examinations of professional and social life in the United States. He was born in Chicago and educated at Harvard University, though he left before completing his degree.

Cozzens began publishing in the 1920s, but his major reputation developed with later works that focused on the inner workings of institutions and the ethical challenges faced by individuals within them. His most acclaimed novels include The Just and the Unjust (1942), Guard of Honor (1948), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and By Love Possessed (1957), a bestselling novel that examines law, morality, and personal conflict.

His writing is known for its formal style, intellectual rigor, and interest in authority, responsibility, and social order. Although widely respected in his time, his reputation later declined somewhat, but he remains an important figure in mid-20th-century American literature.