Juniper brings Emily Nemens’ ‘ambitious, immersive’ ode to friendship to the UK

Juniper, an imprint of HarperCollins, has acquired Clutch by Emily Nemens. Editorial director Joanna Lee acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Luke Ingram at the Wylie Agency on behalf of Jin Auh. Following US publication by Tin House in February 2026, Juniper will publish the novel in hardback in August 2026.

The blurb reads: “As undergrads, Gregg, Reba, Hillary, Bella and Carson formed the kind of rare bond that university brochures promise – friendship that lasts a lifetime. Two decades later, the women are spread across the country but remain firmly linked through their everactive group chat. They’ve made it through Covid-19 and childbirth and mid-career challenges, but no one can anticipate what’s coming next.”

With each facing huge decisions, when they converge on Palm Springs for a long overdue reunion 20 years into their shared friendship, the stakes are higher than ever. “With wit, empathy and heart, Clutch asks how much we can give to our friends and our families, and what space we can save for ourselves,” the publisher says.

Lee describes Clutch as “a paean to the group chat: an immersive, ambitious, big-hearted portrait of the friendships that sustain us and how they evolve over time.” "It’s full of bracing wisdom, emotional complexity and characters that I loved wholeheartedly: it’s no surprise that this has already made waves in the US, and I can’t wait to bring Clutch to readers here in the UK,” she said.

Nemens, whose first novel The Cactus League, was published in 2020 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, commented: “I am grateful to Joanna Lee and the whole team at Juniper for bringing Clutch to the UK. Clutch is an ode to lifelong friendships, and whether readers see themselves and their friend groups in its ensemble, or they find fascinating my idiosyncratic sociology of the millennial American woman, I hope they fall in love with the book. I’ve been thrilled with Clutch’s reception in the US this spring, and I’m keen to share this story with UK readers. To be a part of Juniper’s inaugural season makes UK publication that much more exciting.”