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Lightning Books bags comedian Berry's spoof Number 10 Covid diary
Lightning Books has signed Staggering Hubris: The Memoir of Boris Johnson’s Most Classic Spad, a spoof Number 10 Covid-19 diary by comedian and lockdown social media star Josh Berry.
During lockdown, Berry posted video parodies of an Eton and Oxford-educated special adviser to Boris Johnson (Spad) on Twitter, which have now amassed more than 20 million views. His first book, Staggering Hubris will tell the tale of the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of this alter ego, Rafe Hubris, "a man of implacable self-confidence but zero ability" (Pictured, left).
The publisher explains: "Rafe, who sees himself as the puppet master at the centre of government, has worked closely with the biggest names in UK politics: Big Daddy Cum Cum (Dominic Cummings), Matt Cock in his Hands (Matt Hancock) and Blojo himself (Boris Johnson). His 2020 diary – The Rona Years, Vol 1 – is his fly-on-the-wall account of their response to the coronavirus emergency."
Berry is a stand-up comic and regular on Radio 4’s "Dead Ringers" and "The Now Show". Staggering Hubris will be published in November 2021 to coincide with his first UK-wide tour, "Josh Berry: Who does he think he is?".
He commented: "Lightning Books have lived up to their name and produced Staggering Hubris with breakneck efficiency. This is a big moment for Rafe who will doubtless continue to fail upwards through government in the years to come."
World English language rights were acquired from John Baker at Bell Lomax Moreton. Simon Edge, senior editor at Lightning Books, said: "Along with his 100k other followers, I became a huge fan of Josh’s Twitter sketches during lockdown, which are very cleverly written as well as brilliantly performed, so I jumped at the chance to publish a spin-off in the form of a fictional diary. Josh is a star in the making and we’re very much looking forward to bringing his horribly believable spoof character – the lovechild of Alan B’stard and Alan Partridge – to an even wider audience."
