James Janko Sharing The Wire-Walker

Date and Time

• Friday, Jun 5, 2026  6pm - 7pm

Location

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Details

Join us for an evening discussion & signing with award-winning author James Janko. He’ll be joining us to discuss and sign copies of his latest release, The Wire-Walker, the story of an unlikely friendship.

ABOUT THE BOOK

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Janko’s novels have won numerous awards, including the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Award for the Novel for The Clubhouse Thief, the Association of Asian American Studies Prose Award and the Northern California Book Award for Buffalo Boy and Geronimo, and the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press for The Wire- Walker. The Wire-Walker was a finalist for the Donald L. Jordan Prize for Literary Excellence.

Janko’s short stories have appeared in The Massachusetts Review, The Sun, The Iowa Review, and Eureka Literary Magazine, among others. He received the Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award and an Illinois Arts Council Award.