Never Hide from the Devil: a YA novel
Coming May 2026
The government wants them dead.
Fourteen-year-old Suren Simonian, an Armenian, lives as most boys his age do in the city of Van, eastern Anatolia. He goes to school, gawks at boys’ fistfights, and does his best to avoid the Turkish gendarmes. Most days he spends with his Turkish best friend, Hamza. But in spring 1915, rumors spread through Van of Turkish massacres of Armenian villages. Now Turkish troops have massed outside Van with one goal—to exterminate the city’s Armenians.
As Suren struggles to understand what it means to be a man, he knows one thing for sure: When everything you’ve known and loved is at stake, the only answer is to fight back. You can never hide from the devil.
Based on a true story of resistance during the Armenian Genocide, this stirring coming-of-age novel is a parable of courage, friendship, and impossible choices in the midst of unimaginable horror.
Fourteen-year-old Suren Simonian, an Armenian, lives as most boys his age do in the city of Van, eastern Anatolia. He goes to school, gawks at boys’ fistfights, and does his best to avoid the Turkish gendarmes. Most days he spends with his Turkish best friend, Hamza. But in spring 1915, rumors spread through Van of Turkish massacres of Armenian villages. Now Turkish troops have massed outside Van with one goal—to exterminate the city’s Armenians.
As Suren struggles to understand what it means to be a man, he knows one thing for sure: When everything you’ve known and loved is at stake, the only answer is to fight back. You can never hide from the devil.
Based on a true story of resistance during the Armenian Genocide, this stirring coming-of-age novel is a parable of courage, friendship, and impossible choices in the midst of unimaginable horror.
Praise for
NEVER HIDE FROM THE DEVIL
"Set at the onset of the Armenian Genocide in 1915, fourteen-year-old Suren's life is upended when the Turkish army surrounds the city of Van. Many Armenians flee for their lives, but against their parents' wishes, Suren and his friends fight back. Written with short and compelling chapters, this novel plunges the reader with authenticity into this little-known act of defiance during the 20th century's first genocide."
-Marsha Skrypuch, author of Making Bombs for Hitler and the Kidnapped from Ukraine trilogy
"Through the eyes of a young boy, McQueen crafts a devastating and unforgettable portrait of the 1915 Defense of Van-a story of resilience against impossible odds that delivers the history of the Armenian Genocide to a new generation."
-Eric Z. Weintraub, author of South of Sepharad
"The horrors perpetrators commit are only half the story of genocide. The other half is the resistance of its victims. N.T. McQueen delivers a powerful novel of courage and defiance in the face of annihilation, inspired by the Armenian defense of Van in 1915."
-Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, Columbia University, author of The Resistance Network
"From the perspective of a teenage boy, McQueen masterfully weaves a poignant narrative set against the heavy emotional backdrop of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, where boys are compelled to become men overnight. McQueen's skill in crafting coming-of-age stories provides a rare glimpse of and an ideal lens through which to develop characters as they navigate the untold experiences of the Armenian Freedom Fighters."
-Victoria Atamian Waterman, author of What She Left Behind
-Marsha Skrypuch, author of Making Bombs for Hitler and the Kidnapped from Ukraine trilogy
"Through the eyes of a young boy, McQueen crafts a devastating and unforgettable portrait of the 1915 Defense of Van-a story of resilience against impossible odds that delivers the history of the Armenian Genocide to a new generation."
-Eric Z. Weintraub, author of South of Sepharad
"The horrors perpetrators commit are only half the story of genocide. The other half is the resistance of its victims. N.T. McQueen delivers a powerful novel of courage and defiance in the face of annihilation, inspired by the Armenian defense of Van in 1915."
-Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, Columbia University, author of The Resistance Network
"From the perspective of a teenage boy, McQueen masterfully weaves a poignant narrative set against the heavy emotional backdrop of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, where boys are compelled to become men overnight. McQueen's skill in crafting coming-of-age stories provides a rare glimpse of and an ideal lens through which to develop characters as they navigate the untold experiences of the Armenian Freedom Fighters."
-Victoria Atamian Waterman, author of What She Left Behind
The Cry of Dry Bones:
a novel
A coming-of-age novel set against the brutal regions of the Omo Valley.
"Delivering excellent detail to create an alluring environment, McQueen's coming-of-age myth is as compelling as it is creative...Readers of myth and fantasy will find familiar patterns, but McQueen breaks the mold by using his knowledge of tribal practices. As an outsider to the Omo Valley region, McQueen displays reverence as an outsider writing about traditional practices and the experience of colonization."
The BookLife Prize
"The best fictions are not simply an escape from our world; rather, the best fictions are escape into our world. A vivid continuous dream that forces us to look into our own belief systems as we explore an imaginary world that, on the surface, appears so different from ours. N. T. McQueen accomplishes this in the tale of Tesfahun in his novel The Cry of Dry Bones. Curses, whispers, rumors, and mysteries riddle the world of McQueen's novel in ways that give birth to a desire for a new mythology. The novel is haunted by one central quest: What is life without sacrifice? The novel brims with insights into the idea of sacrifice, the notion of the tribal community, and heroism. A timely novel from another time."
Doug Rice, author of Here Lies Memory: A Pittsburgh Novel
The BookLife Prize
"The best fictions are not simply an escape from our world; rather, the best fictions are escape into our world. A vivid continuous dream that forces us to look into our own belief systems as we explore an imaginary world that, on the surface, appears so different from ours. N. T. McQueen accomplishes this in the tale of Tesfahun in his novel The Cry of Dry Bones. Curses, whispers, rumors, and mysteries riddle the world of McQueen's novel in ways that give birth to a desire for a new mythology. The novel is haunted by one central quest: What is life without sacrifice? The novel brims with insights into the idea of sacrifice, the notion of the tribal community, and heroism. A timely novel from another time."
Doug Rice, author of Here Lies Memory: A Pittsburgh Novel
Between Lions and Lambs: a novel
A wayward preacher and his accomplice confront their demons.