introducing Junie

cover reveal, preorder links, and upcoming news for my debut novel

Hi Everyone!

The day I’ve been waiting for is finally here – I get to start sharing my debut novel, Junie, with the world!

how did I get here?

I first started Junie in Spring of 2018, while staying with my grandparents for Easter. While I don’t remember what exactly sparked my decision that day to start writing, I am guessing it was likely one of my Grandmother’s retellings of the tale of my Grandma Jane. While I’m not going to tell that story now, since it’s a bit of a spoiler for the actual book, I did end up spending an evening brainstorming a few ideas that later came together.

my first novels, and frankly, my best work

I’d written in secret for years, but found some reason or other to drop out of college writing classes, forget to send pages to a friend, or conveniently delete a file to avoid the pressure of anyone ever seeing my work. In June of the same year, I decided to face a longstanding fear of mine and actually start sharing my writing. I took a writing class in Brooklyn, where I ended up drafting twenty pages of what evolved into Junie.

In summer 2020, I answered a tweet from literary agent Michelle Brower, who was looking for manuscripts. I shared the first (and only, at that time) five chapters of the book, assuming I’d never hear anything back. Instead, a month later, I had a literary agent!

one of my many drafting schedules from 2020

Four months of lockdown later, I had a full draft of the book!

me with the first draft!

And after another two years of editing with my incredible agent, Danya Kukafka, we sold Junie to Ballantine Books. The last 15 months since have been a whirlwind; I quit teaching to write full time, moved, traveled, started my second novel, and brought Junie through the editorial process with my fantastic editor, Wendy Wong.

me, danya, wendy aka dream team

There’s still lots more to come before the big publication debut on February 4, 2025, but I’m thrilled to begin sharing Junie with you today.

you can officially preorder your copy of Junie, starting today!

okay, time for the big reveal! here’s the cover!

illustration by Sarah Madden. I 100% cried when I got the email of the cover art.

ABOUT JUNIE

A young girl must face a life-altering decision, navigating love, friendship, and her sister’s ghost as the Civil War looms in this radiant debut.
 
Sixteen years old and enslaved since she was born, Junie spends her days on Bellereine Plantation in Alabama, cooking and cleaning alongside her family, and tending to the white master’s daughter—her oldest friend, Violet. In the daytime, she entertains herself with poetry and imagines grand romances and faraway worlds. She fills her nights with secret explorations through the forest, consumed with grief over the sudden death of her older sister, Minnie.
 
When wealthy guests arrive from New Orleans, hinting at marriage for Violet and upending Junie’s life, she commits a desperate act—one that rouses Minnie’s spirit from the grave, tethered to this world unless Junie can free her. She enlists the aid of Caleb, the guests’ coachman, and their friendship soon becomes something more. Yet as long-held truths begin to crumble, she realizes Bellereine is harboring dark secrets that can no longer be ignored.
 
With time ticking down, Junie begins to push against the current that has controlled her entire life. As she grapples with an increasingly unfamiliar world in which she has little control, she is forced to ask herself: When we choose love and liberation, what must we leave behind?

big upgrade from the staples-bound manuscript, huh?

what’s next?

as I get closer to pub day, I’ll have more to share (hopefully) about events, appearances, news, and more! in the meantime, remember to preorder your copy!

thank you for reading,

erin