Emeline Atwood’s hotly anticipated debut novel, A REAL ANIMAL, is earning extraordinary press more than six months before its publication. The novel appears on coveted most-anticipated lists from TIME and Vogue to Lit Hub and Debutiful, with Hamilton Cain writing for TIME: “[A REAL ANIMAL] stirs with edgy sex, anger, and transcendence.” Writing for Debutiful, Adam Vitcavage said: “Atwood’s book is simply one of the best books I’ve read since I started covering books.” Atwood is also a Publishers Weekly Writer to Watch and recently received gorgeous blurbs from Stephanie Wambugu, Bret Anthony Johnston, Joy Williams, and more. Catapult publishes A REAL ANIMAL on July 7, 2026.