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
Ocean Vuong's novel, Emperor of Gladness, and my novel, The Wire-Walker, have been awarded the best fiction of the year by the Nautilus Book Awards.
Last month, I had the honor to join Deena Metzger, a great writer and feminist and peacemaker, in a reading and discussion of our most recent work. Deena reads from a novella, The Story That Must Not Be Told (2025), and I read from my novel, The Wire-Walker (2025), which primarily takes place in Nablus, Palestine. The readings and discussion focus on Palestine today, the rise of Trump in the USA, and the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s. ![]()
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A Conversation between Deena Metzger and James Janko
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Authors James Janko and Deena Metzger discuss their latest books, The Wire Walker and The Story That Must Not Be Told, as well as the power and wisdom of the...
I am deeply honored to be presenting alongside Deena Metzger on Sunday, March 15, at noon Pacific. Registration is required; the details are below:![]()
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Deena Metzger and James Janko are two writers of moral integrity and ethical concern bearing unflinching witness to the extremities of international and national violence. This is a conversation you don't want to miss! Register at tinyurl.com/storyofresist
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In this interview with Larry Wood of the Veterans Breakfast Club, I talk about my experience as a combat medic in Vietnam (1970) and the origins and development of my most recent novel, The Wire-Walker, which primarily takes place in Nablus, Palestine. I talk about the Balata Refugee Camp, the Nablus Circus School, and discuss the current situation in Palestine and Israel. I praise several organizations that have steadfastly advanced the cause of peace, including Combatants for Peace, Standing Together, and the Parents Circle. I close by talking about Alcatraz Island, where I worked as a solitary night watchman for thirteen years (1979-1992). Photo credit of Alcatraz Island: Don Ramey Logan
New Mexico’s most widely read newspaper, the Albuquerque Journal, selected five best books for 2025. My novel, The Wire-Walker, was among the five. ![]()
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Here is reviewer David Steinberg’s description of the novel:![]()
The Wire-Walker (Regal House Publishing). ![]()
Amal, 16, is preparing to be a tight-rope walker. She is Palestinian and lives in a refugee camp in Nablus, Palestine, also referred to as Israel’s occupied West Bank.![]()
The harsh circumstances of her life do not stop her from trying to achieve her goal.![]()
She gets a chance to demonstrate her high-wire skills when she accepts an invitation to briefly perform with an Israeli kids’ circus in Tel Aviv. Its young performers are Israeli Jews and Palestinians.![]()
Amal befriends Tali, a Jewish juggler in the troupe. Amal also develops a deep friendship with Tali’s mother.![]()
The novel portrays a defiant Amal in a cramped refugee camp. It’s an existence on a shaky social tight rope.![]()
The book is a voice worth listening for its advice, mostly from female characters. If a personal friendship can occur, then maybe a durable political peaceful coexistence is possible for the deep-seated Middle East conflict.