"This novel is really an ode to friendship and those vital love affairs -- not romantic, but those of deep affection -- that grow richer over time," Nemens says of the book
Emily Nemens is celebrating friendship in her latest book.
The author has shared the cover of her forthcoming novel, Clutch, exclusively with PEOPLE. The book is set to arrive next year via Tin House, an imprint of Zando.
The novel follows a group of five friends, who met as undergraduates in college. Twenty years later, they are spread across the country, and are in different stages of life too.
There's Gregg, who works in progressive Texan politics and has a difficult decision to make regarding her career; Reba, who is caring for her aging parents in the Bay Area while undergoing IVF treatments; Hillary, whose husband is struggling with addiction; Bella, a New York-based litigator whose home life is unraveling and Carson, a novelist in Brooklyn attempting to reconnect with her father.
As the friends go through their respective struggles, they must also lean on each other, in what the publisher calls "a big, beautiful and deeply absorbing novel."
The author tells PEOPLE that Clutch's cover, which was designed by Beth Stedle, was inspired by a real-life image.
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"The book is about a group of friends, but I thought the solo figure of Wayne Thiebaud's Supine Woman -- sprawled and seemingly shocked -- felt so evocative of what the women of Clutch were going through, each in her own way," Nemens explains. "I saw this painting almost 15 years ago, but its feeling has stayed with me, bright as if I'd seen it yesterday."
"When we were talking about cover designs, I suggested this artwork's emotion was the feeling I wanted to conjure," she continued. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine we could use the painting itself."
Nemens also explains that the novel's core lies in the complexities of female friendship.
"This novel is really an ode to friendship, and those vital love affairs -- not romantic, but those of deep affection -- that grow richer over time," Nemens tells PEOPLE of the novel. "But of course, life is rarely so rosy as an ongoing lovefest, and I wanted to paint the difficulty, too, for each woman and for their friendships: the slights and betrayals, the moments when the world slants such that you lose perspective on what really matters."
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Nemens' debut novel, The Cactus League, was published in 2020. Her work has also previously appeared in outlets like BOMB, The Gettysburg Review and elsewhere.
Clutch will be published on Feb. 3, 2026 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.