Jesse shuman
I’m an editor at Ballantine Books,
an imprint of Random House.
My current list of authors includes Alexia Arthurs, Adrian Bliss, Jinwoo Chong, Katie Collom, Megan Cummins, Callie Kazumi, Shelly Jay Shore, and Catherine Steadman.
Books I’ve Edited
First Time for Everything
A “big-hearted” (The Daily Beast), “LOL-worthy” (Cosmopolitan) debut about a down-on-his-luck gay man working out how he fits into the world, making up for lost time, and opening himself up to life’s possibilities.
“A refreshing voice to the queer coming-of-age novel with characters whose stories don’t revolve around trauma. Instead, everyday experiences are portrayed with drama and delight.”
—The Washington Post
“This is a book for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider—for all of us who have gone through the joyful, excruciating, and necessary journey of discovering the people we were always meant to be.”
—Grant Ginder, author of Let’s Not Do That Again
“Part of a new wave of authors releasing uplifting queer literature that casts its characters as the heroes of their lives . . . crammed with blossoming romances and glittery escapism.” —The Guardian
Small Joys
Could I one day inspire happiness in others, the same way he seemed to do in me?
“This funny and bighearted debut is an ode to queer friendship and chosen family. . . . A tender and generous novel about finding your people, getting vulnerable, and celebrating every joy—big or small.” —BuzzFeed
“Breathtaking and heartrending, by turns hilarious and devastating and surprising and wild . . . Elvin James Mensah’s prose makes the intangible deft and tremendous—from the balm of friendship to the beauty of queerness to the all-encompassing elixir of community. Tender, thrilling, and honest, Small Joys is a beam of light.”
—Bryan Washington, author of Memorial
“A beautiful, moving story of love, male intimacy, chosen family, and finding self-worth.” —Mendez, author of Rainbow Milk
Kind, careful, beautiful, and profound . . . [Mensah’s] characters will stay in your heart forever.” —Allison Larkin, author of The People We Keep
The Things We Do to Our Friends
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • An intoxicating thriller about a clique of dangerously ambitious students, “perfect for fans of dark academia stories like The Secret History and If We Were Villains” (Cosmopolitan).
“One of the best suspense debuts I’ve read in years . . . Heather Darwent delivers one artful tease after another.”
—Julia Heaberlin, bestselling author of We Are All the Same in the Dark
“Smart and satisfying.” —The Wall Street Journal
“[A] hair-raising debut.” —PopSugar
“Darwent has a great career as a thriller writer ahead of her.” —Sunday Times
“A heady, tense, intoxicating tale.” —Elisabeth Thomas, author of Catherine House
“Sophisticated, seductive . . . Seamlessly blends Gone Girl and Promising Young Woman.” —S. J. Watson, author of Before I Go to Sleep
Solomon’s Crown
New York Times Editors’ Choice • Two rival kings fall desperately in love—but the fate of Europe hangs in the balance.
“Captivating and wonderfully romantic. I didn’t want to put this book down.”
—Rainbow Rowell
“Riveting, haunting—two powerful rulers in a battle for love and respect.”
—Tamora Pierce
“Glorious, heart-wrenching, and, above all, hopeful. A triumph.”
—Grace D. Li, author of Portrait of a Thief
“I cannot believe this book exists. I want to wrap myself in velvet to read passages aloud beside a blazing hearth that’s taller than I am. The prose thrums with the best kind of heartbreak.”
—The New York Times Book Review
LOOK IN THE MIRROR
A woman finds out the hard way that what you inherit from those you love can end up costing your life in this heart-pounding thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water.
“Addictive, thrilling, intoxicating.” —Lisa Jewell
“A gloriously, lushly evoked setting and an utter white-knuckle ride of a plot that took me into a heart of darkness . . . Catherine Steadman more than delivers on the brilliant twists and thrills I’ve come to expect from her writing, yet still rings the changes—this feels totally fresh and unique.” —Lucy Foley
“The vacation home of dreams . . . or nightmares? I tore through this nail-biting, pacy read in a day and it left me wanting more. Catherine Steadman treads the perfect line between in this novel between suspense and pure terror. . . . Unpredictable and deeply unsettling, a must-read.”
—Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author of The Retreat
RULES FOR GHOSTING
To save his family’s failing funeral home—and his own chance at a queer love story—a reluctant clairvoyant must embrace the gift he long ignored in this poignant and tender debut.
“The kind of book you want to live in. This gorgeous debut marvels at new life and does not shy away from life lost. It cracks open the meaning of the word ‘haunting’—whether that be of discarded identity, hidden yearning, or literal ghosts. Best of all, Shelly Jay Shore has written the soft-Jewish-trans-boy-who-sees-dead-people of our literary dreams. I’d read a million pages about Ezra Friedman and still be left wanting more.” —Haley Jakobson, author of Old Enough
“Part romance, part ghost story, part Jewish family epic . . . a meditation on life, death, and healing that is at turns bitingly funny and deeply moving. Shelly Jay Shore is an immense talent.” —Anita Kelly, author of Love & Other Disasters
“A tender, heart-filled novel, Rules for Ghosting is a beautiful story about identity, family, faith, community, and first love. . . . A breathtaking debut.”—Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care
Works-in-Progress
I LEAVE IT UP TO YOU
JINWOO CHONG
From the award-winning author of Flux, a dazzling novel about love, family, and the art of sushi that asks: What if you could return to the point of a fateful choice, wiser than before, and find the courage to forge a new path?
BEST WOMAN
ROSE DOMMU
A debut novel from the creator of the Mall Goth Substack, for fans of My Best Friend’s Wedding and Detransition, Baby, about a trans woman who must return to her Florida hometown to be the “best woman” at her brother’s wedding, but a white lie that gets her closer to her high school crush, the maid of honor, threatens to jeopardize more than just their new found connection.
AEROSOL
MEGAN CUMMINS
A debut novel about coming of age in the opioid crisis, from the Managing Editor of Public Books and the award–winning author of If the Body Allows It, longlisted for the Story Prize and PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize.
CLAIRE, DARLING
CALLIE KAZUMI
In the chilling aftermath of ghosted love, a woman's desperate quest for answers ignites a psychological inferno that will consume her past, present, and future.
She’s been ghosted. But she won’t be forgotten.
PETER MILES HAS TO DIE
KATIE COLLOM
Three friends used to be four. One murder will make it right.
A debut psychological thriller about a quest for revenge and the limits of the justice system in 90s Texas, for fans of Megan Miranda and Bad Sisters.
UNTITLED DEBUT NOVEL
ALEXIA ARTHURS
The debut novel from the O. Henry and Plimpton Prize-winning author of How to Love a Jamaican.
THE GREATEST NOBODIES
OF HISTORY
adrian bliss
From the comedian and TikTok star, a humorous collection exploring the supporting characters behind history’s major moments.
Wishlist
Upmarket & literary fiction
thrillers & suspense
ABOuT
I’m an editor with a passion for art, history, and culture. Previously, I held editorial positions at Knopf, A Public Space, Writers House, Massie & McQuilkin, and PEN America. I grew up on Long Island’s South Shore and now live in Brooklyn.
Experience
EDITOR, BALLANTINE BOOKS
I acquire, edit, and oversee the publication of around ten titles a year—ranging from high-end commercial to literary fiction, and select nonfiction. I collaborate deeply with authors to conceptualize, refine, and edit manuscripts, providing in-depth editorial feedback and guidance on the macro- and micro-level. I liaise with various departments including marketing, design, and production to ensure a cohesive and impactful book launch strategy.
I started in 2018 as an editorial assistant.
EDUCATION
I graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in the Writing Seminars. I won the Stephen Dixon Prize for Fiction Writing and was published in the Hopkins Review, Bmoreart, and other magazines.