Big Man

  • Book Club; Contemporary Fiction; LGBTQ+

  • September 2026

    • UK & Commonwealth (exc. CAN): Cipher Press

Big Man follows the life of Big, a middle-aged Black British gay man who lives a gentle life with his boyfriend, Little, in their home in East London. Big and Little enjoy evenings out and group holidays with friends, as much as practising yoga together at home, and running side by side along the Hackney canals.

Big came of age in the club scene under the watchful eye of Mother, an African American trans woman who made a home and name for herself in London, her house a refuge for wayward queer youths like Big. When he finds out Mother is releasing a memoir, the two reconnect after decades of distance, and Big finds himself having to confront a long-repressed assault that opens old - and new - wounds.

A tender, daring novel full of gentle humour, Big Man explores themes of identity, aging, sex, family and trauma, turning a lens on what it means to age as a queer person, while being a double-edged love letter to the people and places that make us.

Selected Praise

Tender, bold and raunchy, this is the love story that you’re going to want to hand on the next time one of your queer family tells you love is too hard, the scene too cruel or their body the wrong kind of body. Full of life, laughs and lust, it’s a song of praise to the possibility of happiness.
— Neil Bartlett OBE, writer, director and performer