'The Guyliner' Justin Myers pens two novels for Little, Brown

Little, Brown has acquired two novels from freelance journalist "The Guyliner", to be published under his own name Justin Myers.

The first, called The Last Romeo, will be published in Spring 2018 as a paperback and e-book. Commissioning editor Dominic Wakeford bought world rights from author Myers directly. 

Under his pseudonym The Guyliner, Myers has written for Gay Times, GQ and the Guardian. 

The Last Romeo tells the story of James Brodie, a thirty-something journalist who, when his long relationship with Adam ends, decides to try out the dating scene for the first time, writing about his exploits for a small, loyal audience under a secret identity: the Last Romeo. An account of a date with a closeted celebrity boosts the blog’s popularity, not to mention its notoriety, and soon James finds himself reluctantly internet-famous, and dealing with the associated perks and pitfalls; the fans, trolls, and haters, who all want to know one thing: who the hell is Romeo?

Wakeford said: “I’ve followed Justin’s journalism for years – from his razor-sharp articles in Gay Times to his hilarious, highlight-of-Saturday-morning takes on the Guardian’s Blind Date column published on his blog ‘Impeccable Table Manners’. His writing is fresh, highly commercial and – above all – screamingly funny, and the opportunity to share his voice with a wider audience is tremendously exciting.”

Myers said: “I started my writing career aged four, scribbling short stories on the inside covers of my storybooks, much to my parents’ horror, and I haven't stopped since. It seems I was determined from an early age to tell my own stories, and now I’ll finally get to do it on actual pages, between the covers of my own books. People have always asked if I was going to write a book and I'd always say no, because it's an easy way to end a conversation and I’m not big on small-talk. But now I have fewer awkward silences to look forward to, and I'm elated to be working with Little, Brown to bring it all to life at last.”