Literature
James Janko
The Wire-Walker
In the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, Palestine, sixteen-year-old Amal Tuqan finds her escape in tightrope walking. Living in an alley so narrow that “the walls hold their breath,” she practices tirelessly on thin wires and slippery rebar. Her extraordinary talent leads her to Tel Aviv in the summer of 2019, where she joins The Flying Kids, a circus that brings together Israeli and Palestinian children.
There, she forms a deep friendship with Tali Glazman, a Jewish Israeli juggler, and they discover they share a painful bond: both have lost their fathers to violence. As their friendship defies the deep-seated animosities that divide them, The Wire-Walker reveals more than just a tale of friendship; it is a raw and powerful commentary on the daily struggles faced by Amal and her community in the occupied West Bank.
Set against the backdrop of 2019-2020, this poignant tale serves as a prequel to the struggles that have unfolded since, highlighting the enduring spirit of youth amidst conflict.
Janko’s most recent novel, What We Don’t Talk About, was published by the University of Wisconsin Press in 2022. His novel, The Clubhouse Thief (2018, New Issues Poetry & Prose), won the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Award for the Novel. His debut novel, Buffalo Boy and Geronimo (Northwestern University Press/ Curbstone), received wide critical acclaim and two awards: The Association of Asian American Studies Book Award and the Northern California Book Award. The Wire-Walker was a finalist for the 2023 Donald L. Jordan Prize for Literary Excellence, a finalist for the 2023 Dzanc Fiction Prize, and was awarded the Juniper Prize by the University of Massachusetts Press in 2021. Excerpts of The Wire-Walker appeared in the Fall/Winter 2022 issue of Nimrod International Journal.
Janko’s short stories have appeared in The Massachusetts Review, The Sun, and Eureka Literary Magazine, among others. His story––“Fallujah in a Mirror”––won First Place in the Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award and appeared in the Spring 2021 issue of The Iowa Review. Janko is the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Award for Fiction.
Event(s) related to this book
Rights Market
English, French, Spanish
24 September, 02:00PM (UTC+2)
Non-Fiction & Fiction Rights Market - 2025 edition
Mercado de derechos (literatura & ciencias humanas y sociales) / Marché des droits (littérature & sciences humaines et sociales)
Talk
24 September, 08:00AM (UTC+2)
Solidarity with the palestinian people
Solidaridad con el pueblo palestino / Solidarité avec le peuple palestinien
