Photo by Emily Knecht
Josie Adams is a writer, producer, and founder of House of Water, an independent, women-led production company focused on writing and development across film, TV, books, audio, and theater.
She was adopted at birth from Omaha, Nebraska and raised in Los Angeles.
She recently appeared in two episodes of the CNN Originals culinary travel series Breaking Bread (“Marseille” and “Wisconsin”) alongside her father, actor Tony Shalhoub (Monk, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel).
They also co-wrote a culinary narrative memoir together called We Thought They’d Never Leave: Musings on Food & Family, which will be released from Gallery Books on Oct. 27, 2026 and is available for preorder.
Her writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, Bon Appétit, and on Audible.
She has attended the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and the Yale Writers’ Conference, and holds a BFA in Theatre from CalArts along with multiple culinary degrees. For the past decade, she worked as a copywriter across tech, e-commerce, and publishing, before deciding to leave the corporate world.
She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
Nonfiction
McSweeney’s “Home”
Short fiction
Audible “The Tea Shoppe” (narrated by Nicola Barber)
Audible “The Swan Prince’s Lantern” (narrated by Alan Cumming)
Audible “The Florist” (narrated by Stephanie Hsu)
Books
We Thought They’d Never Leave: Musings on Food & Family by Tony Shalhoub with Josie Adams (Gallery, Oct 2026)
Writing
For readers of Stanley Tucci and Ruth Reichl and fans of award-winning actor-turned-author Tony Shalhoub (Big Night, Monk, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), comes a delightful narrative of nostalgic remembrances and recollections about gathering at the family table.
We Thought They’d Never Leave marks the literary debut of Tony Shalhoub, the beloved actor who, for the first time, has gathered delightful stories, memories, and recipes to create this timely, feel-good collection.
Written with his daughter, Josie Adams, the book is a humorous and heartfelt portrait of place, family, and food. At its center is the annual Shalhoub summer reunion in Door County, Wisconsin—a tradition that pulls ten siblings, their children, and their children’s children back to the same stretch of land, carrying decades of shared history with them.
Credit: Mindy Tucker; Gallery Books
Through rich vignettes drawn from his parents, his siblings, and the many summers spent crowded around long tables, Tony reflects on the meals, mishaps, and small moments that link one generation to the next—from his childhood in a lively Lebanese-American household in Green Bay to the beautiful, chaotic gatherings that continue today. Along the way, he includes several family recipes that have stood the test of time.
Part memoir and part family-history—full of games, gatherings, and Shalhoub lore, plus twenty recipes—We Thought They’d Never Leave is a love letter to food, family, tradition, and the kind of loud, affectionate, ever-growing family reunion that somehow always makes room for one more at the table.
Contact
Literary: Kari Stuart @ CAA
Podcast: Caroline Edwards @ CAA
Film/TV: Michael McConnell @ Zero Gravity Management
PR: Gayle Khait @ Khait PR