A BBC MUST-READ BOOK OF 2026 · Josh Silver's adult debut
Anyone can write a bestseller. Here's how.
Go gay. Seven years ago Mallory was a literary sensation. Since then: writer's block, and a career sliding towards obscurity. She needs inspiration, and she needs it fast.
Go sad. Enter Leo — young, addicted, sleeping under bridges and trading sex to survive. Vulnerable, enigmatic, and exactly what Mallory has been looking for.
Go dark. Authenticity sells, and nothing is more authentic than a real life. Mallory is sure she's the perfect person to tell Leo's story. But as secrets start to surface that could wreck far more than her career, she has to decide how far she is prepared to go for the perfect book.
A savage satire of publishing and of who gets to profit from whose pain, and also a surprisingly tender story about addiction, survival and two people writing their own rules. Russell T Davies calls it an incredible book; Juno Dawson calls it savage and darkly hilarious; the Daily Mail compares it to Trainspotting crossed with Yellowface.
About the author
Josh Silver grew up on a farm in the Lake District before moving to Manchester. He trained as an actor at RADA and performed in the West End and on Broadway, then changed careers and now works with teenagers as a mental health nurse. After three novels for young adults, Fruit Fly is his first for adults. He lives in Manchester.
Edition details
- Magpie (Oneworld) paperback, 416 pages
- Published April 2026
Content note: Contains drug addiction, homelessness, survival sex work and themes of exploitation and trauma. Intended for adult readers.
