Penguin Michael Joseph lands Schwalbe’s ‘funny and irresistible’ love letter to friendship

Penguin Michael Joseph has signed We Should Not Be Friends, “a warm, funny, irresistible book that follows an improbable and life-changing friendship over the course of 40 years” by author Will Schwalbe.

M.d. Louise Moore bought exclusive UK and British Commonwealth rights from Max Brockman at Brockman, Inc. We Should Not Be Friends will be published on 30th March 2023 in hardback, e-book, and audio.

The synopsis reads: “In his last year of university, Will thought he knew everyone he cared to know. A perm-haired, out gay young man, working at an AIDS helpline in the early days of the crisis, Will found friends and community amongst the theatre students, artists and writers. He also knew who he wanted to avoid: the jocks. Wearing sporty clothes and moving in boisterous packs, the jocks seemed to be a different species entirely, one Will might encounter only at his own peril.

“All this changed dramatically when Will was brought into a secret society at Yale, aimed to bring together a group of opposites. On his first day, he was faced with Chris Maxey – a physically imposing, loud, star wrestler who seemed to be uncomfortable around Will and embodied everything he disliked and feared. But through months of mandated dinners, and many beers, the two swapped life-stories and forged an unexpected bond that became ballast in each other’s lives for 40 years."

Schwalbe said: “I’ve always loved Michael Joseph’s list and am thrilled that they are publishing We Should Not Be Friends. It’s a book that has been forty-years in the making. I think almost all of us have a friend who we met under unusual circumstances, who is totally unlike our other friends, who comes in and out of our lives over the course of years or even decades, and yet who knows us as well as anyone—maybe better.

“There’s nothing quite like a friend who reminds you of the person you were when you were just starting out in life and who sticks with you on your way to becoming the person you are today. I’m hoping this book will help readers celebrate the serendipity of friendship—how if you can get past some of your preconceptions and prejudices, you may find the most important people in your life."

Moore said: “This is a very special book and I wanted us to publish it as soon as I read it. It’s a love letter to enduring friendship.”