Coming-of-age debut to Dialogue

Dialogue Books has acquired a debut novel by Paul Mendez called Rainbow Milk, to be published in 2019.

Commissioning editor Dominic Wakeford bought world rights in Rainbow Milk and a non-fiction work from author Mendez directly. Dialogue Books will publish the novel in hardback in April 2019.

Rainbow Milk is described as "an intersectional coming-of-age story". It follows a teenage boy, Paris, coming to terms with his racial and sexual identity against the backdrop of a repressive religious upbringing.

Wakeford called it "a raw, essential debut novel by a precociously talented author, with shades of James Baldwin at his most vivid" and complimented Mendez for his writing's "extraordinary verve". 

Sharmaine Lovegrove, publisher at Dialogue Books, added: "Paul is a true artist whose narratives invite us to see the world and the experience of others with fresh, thoughtful eyes."

Mendez is from the Black Country. He now lives in London and is a member of two theatre companies, Scaffold State and Know My Mind. He's also worked as a voice actor, most recently recording Ian Wright’s A Life in Football for Hachette Audio.

He said: "From the minute I heard it announced, via The Bookseller, that Dialogue Books would be fronted by Sharmaine Lovegrove, I was determined to become a member of its household. I've received nothing but love, support and confidence from the team since the beginning, and look forward thus to sharing and developing my work over the long term."