Barack Obama selected Vincent Yu’s Seek IMMEDIATE SHELTER as one of eleven titles on his 2026 Summer Reading List. The only debut novel on the list, SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER tells a story of survival, hope, and second chances in an Asian American community in Massachusetts, when a false missile throws the residents' lives into chaos. The novel was published by Flatiron Books on May 5th, 2026, and the UK edition publishes with September Publishing on August 6th.

We have become aware that scammers are impersonating some of our literary agents and our authors and contacting writers, even speaking to them by telephone. Please be aware that we do not charge a reading fee and our authors do not charge fees to refer writers to us or to publishers, and we only send emails from our own domain @janklow.com.

OUR WILD FAMILIARS by award-winning writer and epidemiologist Dan Werb is enjoying a successful release. The book was an instant bestseller in Canada, hitting #5 on Globe and Mail’s and Toronto Star’s Canadian Non-fiction lists. It was also a bestseller in Vancouver Sun’s “New Releases” and CBC Books’ “Nonfiction” lists. In the U.S., it was featured in Eric Spitznagel's article "You're not supposed to be here! How wild animals are adapting to our cities" for the New York Post, who says,: "In Werb's telling, the city is a living habitat with more species, stranger neighbors, and deeper animal dramas than most people notice." OUR WILD FAMILIARS was published by Knopf Canada and Crown in the U.S. on July 14, 2026.

Ben Passmore won the Eisner Award in the category of Best Reality-Based Work for his graphic novel BLACK ARMS TO HOLD YOU UP: A HISTORY OF BLACK RESISTANCE. The award was presented at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, and is the top honors for creative achievement in American comic books. Deemed “virtuosic,” “refreshing,” and “packed with meaning” by the New York Times, BLACK ARMS TO HOLD YOU UP is a whirlwind graphic history of Black life in America, taken by force. Pantheon published the graphic novel on October 7th, 2025.

Charles Cumming’s latest BOX 88 thriller ICARUS 17 landed on The Times’ “Four Great Thrillers to read this July” roundup, and was selected as “Thriller of the Month” by the Sunday Times: “Cumming’s storytelling is… dynamic, resembling a deadly version of the TV show ‘Race Across the World’. And, happily, the hectic action and country-hopping leave room for other elements, from the two couples’ love stories to nods to espionage classics.” The Mysterious Press published the book on July 7, 2026.

Vincent Yu has won the 2026 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize for his breathtaking debut novel, SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER — a story of survival, hope, and second chances in an Asian American community in Massachusetts, when a false missile throws the residents’ lives into chaos. Voted on by more than 250 booksellers from Barnes & Noble stores nationwide, the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize is an annual literary award that recognizes exceptional debut authors whose work stands out for its originality, emotional impact, and potential for long-term success. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER was published by Flatiron Books on May 5, 2026.

VILLA COCO by Andrew Sean Greer debuted on The New York Times Bestsellers list for the week of June 28, 2026, appearing at #14 on the Hardcover Fiction list. Doubleday published the book on June 9, 2026.

ICARUS 17, the newest entry in Charles Cumming's bestselling BOX 88 series, has received positive press ahead of its release this summer. In The Guardian’s round-up of most-anticipated books for 2026, Alex Preston calls ICARUS 17 the “best [installment] yet,” adding: “If there was any question as to who is the rightful inheritor of John le Carré’s crown as the king of elegant spy fiction, this proves that it’s Cumming beyond any doubt.” Kirkus praises: “The plot is intricate and its incidents satisfyingly interconnected, each small development fitting into a tapestry of espionage and international relations…A subtle international thriller that offers simmering suspense and political insight.” Meanwhile, Civilian Reader calls the BOX 88 SERIES “[m]ust-reads…for all fans of espionage fiction,” adding that ICARUS 17 “is easily one of [their] most-anticipated novels of the year.” The Mysterious Press will publish the book on July 7, 2026.

Julia Elliott has been awarded the Carole Shields Prize for Fiction for her short story collection HELLIONS. Elliott will receive $150,000 and a stay at Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The prize's voting jury says: "This eerie, eclectic, genre-leaping collection takes no half-measures; every sentence of HELLIONS crackles or crawls. Here, human folly moves against a backdrop of horror and magic. There’s folklore in these stories, and Southern gothic horror, and surrealism, and fantasy, and, at their center, a thread of uneasy, bodily realism. The work evokes writers like Angela Carter, Dorothy Allison, Gloria Naylor, and Kelly Link. But for all its wildness, there is tremendous control; Elliott is a gifted and thrilling writer.” Tin House published HELLIONS on April 15, 2025.

Three J&N clients have been honored as finalists for 2026 Pulitzer Prizes: Rachel Aviv (Feature Writing), Sarah Chihaya (Memoir or Autobiography), and Nicholas Kristof (Opinion Writing).