Pushkin snaps up McSorley's second novel based in gritty Glasgow underworld

Pushkin Vertigo will publish Paperboy by McIlvanney Prize-winning author Callum McSorley.

Commissioning editor Daniel Seton bought world English rights for the Pushkin imprint from Marilia Savvides on behalf of Emily MacDonald at 42 MP. Pushkin Vertigo will publish Paperboy in hardback and e-book on 6th March 2025. 

Pushkin has described Paperboy as “a gritty Glasgow thriller, full of unforgettable, relatable characters, some familiar and some new, and shot through with dark gallows humour”.  

It follows a newly promoted but still very unpopular DCI Alison ’Ally’ McCoist, first introduced in McSorley’s debut Squeaky Clean. She investigates a murder linked to a confidential paper-shredding business and stumbles across evidence of police corruption – the sort of evidence that could get her killed if she doesn’t handle it carefully. 

Squeaky Clean, won the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year 2023, with McSorely becoming the youngest author to ever win it. Screen rights have been sold to Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish’s Imaginarium Productions which will adapt it for TV. 

Seton said: “Callum is a natural storyteller and one of the most exciting young crime writers around. Fans who enjoyed Squeaky Clean are in for a treat with Paperboy – it’s blisteringly funny, brutally dark and has an unforgettable conflicted heroine in DCI Ally McCoist.” 

McSorley said: “I’m very happy to be working with Daniel and the Pushkin team again on my second novel. The past year has been incredible – genuinely dream-come-true stuff – and it wouldn’t have happened without them. Once again, I owe a massive thanks to my agent Emily MacDonald and her colleague Marilia Savvides for their invaluable work and support with the tricky second album. 

“The response to Squeaky Clean has been amazing beyond anything I could have expected, and I’m excited for readers to find out how much more trouble Ally McCoist can get herself into in Paperboy. Spoiler – it’s a lot.” 

McSorley is a writer based in Glasgow, where he grew up. Squeaky Clean was inspired by Callum’s years spent working at a car wash in the city’s East End.