James Janko
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James Janko's Novels
Novelist, Poet, Veteran | Author of ‘The Clubhouse Thief’ and ‘What We Don’t Talk About’ | New book ‘The Wire-Walker’ out September 23, 2025
The Wire-Walker has been well received by reviewers. A review of the novel in the November/December issue of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs reads, in part:![]()
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“Phillippe Petit, the French-born high-wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers on a tightrope for 45 minutes in 1974, 1,312 feet high and without a net, is still alive and performing at 76. Amal Tuqan, 16, is a Palestinian girl training to be a tightrope walker like her idol Petit, but she lives in Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, occupied Palestine in 2019. Her dream of becoming a professional circus aerialist or wire walker is her reason for living. As we anxiously turn the pages of The Wire-Walker by James Janko, we worry that his fearless adolescent narrator may not live to become an adult…I guarantee that Amal will live on in your memory long after you turn the last page.” ––Delinda C. Hanley, Executive Editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs![]()
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Link to the full review:![]()
www.wrmea.org/middle-east-books-and-more/the-wire-walker-a-novel.html![]()
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“James Janko is a marvelous writer whose compassionate imagination spans worlds.”![]()
––Naomi Shihab Nye, author of Habibi and winner of the 2024 Wallace Stevens Award ![]()
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“Amal [the narrator of The Wire-Walker] is Palestine’s Anne Frank. The ending is breath-taking.”![]()
—Maxine Hong Kingston, author of The Woman Warrior
Last month, Writer's Digest published my essay, "Letting the Body Lead: Writing Movement, Gesture, and Tension on the Page". In part, the essay describes the making of my novel, The Wire-Walker. "Creation," writes author Deena Metzger, "means bringing to life." Writing fiction is a high-wire act. How can every sentence of a story or a novel come alive? ![]()
Letting the Body Lead: Writing Movement, Gesture, and Tension on the Page
www.writersdigest.com
Author James Janko discusses the connection of the body to writing and connects it to the wire-walking protagonist of his novel.
I published in Shepherd brief reviews of the five best books to inspire peace in Palestine and Israel. The narrator of my novel, The Wire-Walker, tells the reader her life's purpose in plain terms: "To humble every man with a gun, everyone with power--that's why I was born." The five books I reviewed in Shepherd have a similar purpose.![]()
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The best books to inspire peace in Palestine and Israel
shepherd.com
James Janko shares the 5 best books on inspiring peace in Palestine and Israel. Have you read Palestinian Walks?
I will read from The Wire-Walker at Town Hall Seattle on Wednesday, October 15, at 7:30 p.m. Event location: 1119 8th Ave., the Mehdi Reading Room. ![]()
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Some quotes about The Wire-Walker:![]()
“James Janko is a marvelous writer whose compassionate imagination spans worlds.”![]()
––Naomi Shihab Nye ![]()
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“Amal [the narrator of The Wire-Walker] is Palestine’s Anne Frank. The ending is breath-taking.”![]()
—Maxine Hong Kingston![]()
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“James Janko’s The Wire-Walker is a powerfully imagined and lithely executed tale of moral clarity.” ––IndieReader (starred review) August 27, 2025![]()
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“The Wire-Walker is an aching, heartbreaking novel about a girl whose sky-high dreams cannot be contained.”![]()
––Forword Reviews September / October 2025![]()
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“A poetic combination of beauty and horror, disillusionment and hope. This novel provides an unforgettable perspective to a centuries-old conflict. I hope to read more novels from this author, a singular voice, a remarkable talent.”![]()
— Gabriel Bump, author of Everywhere You Don’t Belong
A BookTok video by Tatia Dumbadse [see link below] includes The Wire-Walker as a must-read in her September round-up. The Wire-Walker is the second book featured in the round-up. The Wire-Walker takes place primarily in Nablus, Palestine, and also in Tel Aviv. An unlikely friendship between two circus girls, a Palestinian wire-walker and a Jewish Israeli juggler are at the heart of the story. ![]()
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www.tiktok.com/@tatis_corner/video/7555941654323072269