When the heavy hitters of the thriller genre gather at The Poisoned Pen, you listen.

Recently, Jack Stewart joined forces with Andrews & Wilson for The Poisoned Pen’s Thriller Night panel that felt less like a book signing and more like a debriefing in the team room.

For fans of W.E.B. Griffin’s Presidential Agent series and the Ryanverse, the event dropped significant intel on the future of both, and a serendipitous backstory that proves Jack Stewart was destined to write Direct Action.

Here are my key takeaways from the event.

The Strategy Behind “Bench-Warmer” Castillo

I’ve discussed the audacity of shooting franchise hero Charley Castillo in the opening chapters of Direct Action, effectively benching him. At the event, Stewart confirmed this wasn’t just for shock value, it was a tactical narrative necessity.

Stewart explained he needed to remove the safety net. If Castillo had been healthy, he would have naturally taken charge, leaving new protagonist Pick McCoy as a permanent sidekick. By putting Castillo in the ICU, Stewart forced McCoy to step up and earn the mantle of Presidential Agent immediately. He described the role not just as a spy or a soldier, but as a “fixer”, someone the President calls to cut through the red tape of the CIA and Pentagon.

The “Boys’ Life” Prophecy

The most incredible moment of the night was the reveal of how Jack Stewart ended up writing for the Griffin estate.

In 1985, an eight-year-old Stewart read an article in Boys’ Life magazine about the U.S. Naval Academy’s King Hall. That single article sparked his dream to serve, leading him to Annapolis and eventually the cockpit of a fighter jet.

Decades later, when Stewart pitched himself to W.E.B. Griffin’s son (William E. Butterworth IV) to take over the series, he mentioned this story. The response? Butterworth revealed that he was the editor at Boys’ Life who had worked on that specific article. It was the first piece he ever edited.

It’s a “truth is stranger than fiction” moment that solidifies Stewart’s place in the Griffin legacy.

Breaking News: The “AWE” Imprint

The thriller community is about to get bigger. Andrews & Wilson announced they are launching their own publishing imprint, Andrews & Wilson Entertainment (AWE), through Blackstone Publishing.

Their mission? To bring the “80s and 90s action movie” vibe back to books. And one of their first recruits? Jack Stewart, who confirmed he has agreed to write a project for the new imprint. Seeing these authors collaborate on the business side is a massive win for readers who crave authentic, high-octane storytelling.

Andrews & Wilson also spoke about the Ryanverse. While they are building their own worlds, they spoke with deep reverence about their role in Tom Clancy’s sandbox. They discussed their recent work, Act of Defiance (a direct sequel to The Hunt for Red October), and their newest release, Executive Power. Their goal remains simple but dauntless: to ground high-stakes geopolitical thrills in the authentic emotional reality of the operators on the ground, something their shared Navy background makes them uniquely qualified to do.

Ryanverse Update: Pressure Depth

As first reported by The Campus Files, Stewart dropped solid confirmation on his next contribution to the Ryanverse. Stewart’s first Jack Ryan Jr. novel will be titled Pressure Depth, and is slated for release this coming September. Given the title, we can expect the tension, or perhaps pressure, to be crushing, literally.

Final Thoughts

Watching Jack Stewart trade war stories and tradecraft with Andrews & Wilson, one thing is clear: the modern military thriller is in a golden age. Whether he’s writing for the Griffin estate, the Clancy estate, or this new AWE imprint, Stewart is firing on all cylinders. I’m excited about what the future has in store from Jack Stewart.

Direct Action is available December 15, 2025. You can pre-order now.

Direct Action was the second book I’ve read in the Presidential Agent series, and by far my favourite, in part due to the added realism Jack Stewart added to the basis for the Presidential Agent. Read my review: No Guts, No Glory? No. Just Huevos. Why Direct Action Changes Everything

Interested in the plausibility of the Presidential Agent program? Read my deep dive: The Reality of the “Finding” in Direct Action: Can the President Really Create a Private Spy Agency?

You can watch the full show below: