From the blue princess dress he coveted as a child, that first led him to question whether he was ‘normal’, through to the Nike cap and Gucci loafers he wore to impress the men he first desired, fabric has long enveloped and shaped his formative moments.

Using the wardrobe of his past as a lens through which to explore the myriad trials and tribulations of adolescence, The Closet charts Teo’s growth from uncertainty to self-acceptance. Courageously recounting his sexual awakening, the all too familiar hesitancy around his adult future – and his many, often tumultuous, relationships with family and friends – Teo learns that it is only in celebrating our differences that we can learn to fully embrace the brilliance within ourselves.

“A blisteringly honest take on contemporary Britishness that manages to be both nuanced and shocking. Highly recommended.” Afua Hirsch, author of  Brit(ish)
 
You’re a black man.  
 
Aggressive. Athletic.  
Feared. Fetishised.  
Policed. Politicised.
 
It’s limiting. It’s tiring. And it’s not true.  
 
What makes a man in the 21st century? For generations ‘being a man’ has meant behaving in a very particular way. It has meant being strong, sexually assertive and overtly heterosexual. Assumptions around masculinity have been the root cause of countless problems which, to this day, continue to affect the whole of society.  

When the question of masculinity intersects with race, these assumptions too often mutate into pernicious prejudice in ways that are particularly damaging for the men themselves. In this groundbreaking and revealing book, actor, activist and writer Obioma Ugoala – a man of mixed Nigerian and Irish heritage – examines the ways in which his life has been affected by people failing to address their own prejudices about what they conceive a Black man to be.  

As well as talking about these – often shocking – experiences he take a broader cultural and historical view to challenge notions of race and masculinity that have over centuries become embedded in British society, poisoning the public discourse and blighting people’s lives.  

With unflinching honesty and deep humanity, this unique and important book challenges us all to face our personal failings while offering a vision of a more positive future if we dare to do better.  

When first published as The Problem with My Normal Penis the book met resistance from some who considered the title unnecessarily provocative. In this updated edition, Ugoala addresses the reception his book received and the light this shed on the very issues of race and masculinity that he was addressing.

‘Whipsmart and refreshingly vulnerable. In this book, Obioma Ugoala brilliantly exposes the systems and the individuals that have long perpetuated dangerous and irresponsible ideals around Blackness and masculinity.’  Candice Carty-Williams, author of  Queenie

“A valiant venture of a book that is somehow both tender memoir and unflinching excavation of the sociological blights that affect both self and society. Looking outward, inwards and forward, it lucidly explores complicated truths. Hopeful and honest, uncomfortable and encouraging, it is a book this country needs.”  Bolu Babalola, author of  Love in Colour

“An urgent, personal, compassionate book that never backs away from the difficulty of what we are facing but provides a forgiving mirror and a useable map so we can truly reflect & navigate. Obioma Ugoala’s treatise should be a set text for a world in crisis.” Deborah Frances White

‘In his enquiring memoir, he astutely explores where the expectations of his race and masculinity meet, unpicking and challenging his past experiences of prejudice. His personal stories are told in the context of the wider culture, and the book is a compassionate rallying cry to be more conscious.’  Evening Standard

‘A page-turning read about the dark side of social media’ STYLIST

‘The Book Of The Summer’ VOGUE

‘Topical, heartfelt, provocative’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO

‘The perfect summer read ? Impossible to put down’ PAULA HAWKINS

‘A page-turner that you can’t second guess’ THE TIMES

‘A must-read ? fans of Yellowface will love The List‘RED MAGAZINE

ONLINE RUMOURS. REAL LIFE TROUBLE.

Ola Olajide, a high-profile journalist, is marrying the love of her life in one month’s time. Young, beautiful, successful – she and her fiancé Michael seem to have it all.

That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message:

‘Oh my god, have you seen The List?’

It began as a list of anonymous allegations about abusive men. Now it has been published online. Ola made her name breaking exactly this type of story. She would usually be the first to cover it, calling for the men to be fired. Except today, Michael’s name is on there.

With their future on the line, Ola gives Michael an ultimatum to prove his innocence by their wedding day, but will the truth of what happened change everything for both of them?

*SOON TO BE A MAJOR TV SERIES*

‘Explosive ? Every book club should read this’ SYMEON BROWN

‘Brilliant ? as taut as a thriller’ IRISH TIMES

‘Fun and thought-provoking in equal measure’HARPERS BAZAAR

‘An enthralling, razor-sharp, witty page-turner’ BOLU BABALOLA

‘Addictive ? will set off a million debates’ ANNIE LORD

‘One of the most anticipated books of the summer’ GUARDIAN

‘The book that everyone’s talking about’INDEPENDENT

READERS ARE OBSESSED WITH THE LIST:

‘WOW! I could not put this down. I would give it six stars if I could!’

‘Gripping, with twists and turns that keep you hooked until the very end’

‘SO GOOD. Perfect for book clubs, especially those who liked Such a Fun Age‘

‘A first class novel ? Compelling and provocative’

‘This book will be talked about and find itself on every end of the year list!’

‘Funny, witty, relevant and real’

America, 2049: Summer temperatures are intolerably high, the fossil fuel industry has shut down, and humans are implanted with a ‘Flick’ at birth, which allows them to remain perpetually online. The wealthy live in the newly created Floating City off the coast, while people on the mainland struggle to get by. For Rose, a job as a hostess in the city’s elite club feels like her best hope for a better future.

At a Cold War-era research station, a group of highly trained women with the code name White Alice are engaged in climate surveillance. But the terms of their employment become increasingly uncertain.

And in a former oil town in northern Canada called Dominion Lake, a camp is being built-Camp Zero. A rare source of fresh, clean air and cooler temperatures, it will be the beginning of a new community and a new way of life. Grant believes it will be the perfect place to atone for his family’s dark legacy.

Everyone has an agenda. So who can you trust? Could falling in love be most the radical act of all?

Thrilling, immersive and disturbingly prescient, Camp Zero is about the world we’ve built and where we go from here.

In a beautiful blend of prose and lyricism, each essay sees its author tap into their most vulnerable place – engaging honestly in conversations often silently grappled with by Black British men because of socially enforced beliefs around Black masculinity.

The themes in this essay collection range from the importance of male role-models, and the unique relationship between mother and son to the sexual pressure placed on young heterosexual men, while also asking the question: “what does contemporary Black queerness actually look like?”

Edited by award-winning artist Iggy London and featuring essays from Yomi Sode, Jeffrey Boakye, Christian Adofo, Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Athian Akec, Dipo Faloyin, Okechukwu Nzelu, Phil Samba, Sope Soetan, and Jordan Stephens, MANDEM is an unmissable, thoughtful anthology of Black male expression.

In this bold and radical book, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini goes in search of the true roots of gendered oppression, uncovering a complex history of how male domination became embedded in societies and spread across the globe.

‘By thinking about gendered inequality as rooted in something unalterable within us, we fail to see it for what it is: something more fragile that has had to be constantly remade and reasserted.’

In this bold and radical book, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini goes in search of the true roots of gendered oppression, uncovering a complex history of how male domination became embedded in societies and spread across the globe from prehistory into the present.

Travelling to the world’s earliest known human settlements, analysing the latest research findings in science and archaeology, and tracing cultural and political histories from the Americas to Asia, she overturns simplistic universal theories to show that what patriarchy is and how far it goes back really depends on where you are.

Despite the push back against sexism and exploitation in our own time, even revolutionary efforts to bring about equality have often ended in failure and backlash. Saini ends by asking what part we all play – women included – in keeping patriarchal structures alive, and why we need to look beyond the old narratives to understand why it persists in the present.