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Justin David

Growing up in the Black Country under Mrs Thatcher's iron grip, Jamie dreams of a life in a magical metropolis, rubbing shoulders with the mythical creatures from Smash Hits. Despite the quirky characters in his hometown and his mother's witty one-liners, Jamie's heart is set on something greater.

Follow him through secondary school, teenage turmoil, and art school, where he falls in love with Billy and the allure of the big city. Will he choose to play it safe in Welston or take a chance on a new life in London?

These flamboyantly funny stories of self-discovery, set against the shifting social scenery of the 80s and 90s, are for everybody who's ever decided to be the person they are meant to be.

Justin David is a writer, publisher, and well-known photographer who focuses on concepts such as LGBTQ+, working-class writers and a non-mainstream publishing ethos.

Matthew Biddulph

SAGA Egmont

The Welston World Sagas

Tales of the Suburbs

As a boy growing up in the Black Country—drained grey by Mrs Thatcher's steely policies—Jamie dreams of escape to a magical metropolis where he can rub shoulders with the mythical creatures who inhabit the pages of his Smash Hits. Though his hometown is not without characters and Jamie's life not without dramas—courtesy of a cast of West Midlands divas led by his mother, Gloria. Her one-liners are as colourful as the mohair cardies she carries off with the panache of a television landlady.
We follow Jamie through secondary school, teenage troubles and away to art school; there he experiences the flush of first love with Billy, and the rush of the big city. But what then? Will he return to the safety of Welston, or risk everything on a new life in London?
These flamboyantly funny stories of self-discovery, set against the shifting social scenery of the 80s and 90s, are for everybody who's ever decided to be the person they are meant to be.
'These 'suburbs' are also universal: this open-heartened, delightful journey of self-discovery is known to, and should be relished by, all of us.' ANNETTE BADLAND
'This is an authentic, poignant account of working-class life and manners and, ultimately, the overriding love the author feels for those who shaped his childhood. I didn't want it to end.' ANN MITCHELL
'Rich, layered, filigree characters unveil a compelling portrait of queerness in working class England, a narrative both familiar and sacred. Reading this book was like coming home. Beautiful.' JOELLE TAYLOR
'Justin David writes with enviable poise and economy. This is first class writing, conveying with calm authenticity what it means to be at the centre of the puzzle of our own lives.' RÓNÁN HESSION
'Justin David's Tales of the Suburbs reveals a true writer's gift for comic and poignant storytelling, in which pithy dialogue and sharp characterisation make for compelling reading.' PATRICIA ROUTLEDGE
'A well-observed, charming account of small-town, working-class life and the move to the big, bad, brilliant city. This should strike a chord not just with gay readers but with anyone who's lived, loved and fought to become the person they're meant to be.' MATT CAIN
'The writing is glorious. Young queer people will see themselves in these relatable stories, and queer elders, reflecting upon their own lives, will find healing in these pages.' AMY ZING, co-founder of SINK THE PINK

'Justin David's tale of working-class gay life is a bitter-sweet, beautiful thing. The audience at Polari loved it—as well they should.' PAUL BURSTON, Polari Literary Salon

Inkandescent

Tales of the Suburbs: first Welston then the World

Love is the Drug...

Twenty-four-year-old Billy is beautiful and sexy. Albert—The Pharmacist—is a compelling but damaged older man, and a veteran of London’s late ’90s club scene. 

After a chance meeting in the heart of the London’s East End, Billy is seduced into the sphere of Albert. An unconventional friendship develops, fueled by Albert’s queer narratives and an endless supply of narcotics. 

Alive with the twilight times between day and night, consciousness and unconsciousness, the foundations of Billy’s life begin to irrevocably shift and crack, as he fast-tracks toward manhood. This story of lust, love and loss is homoerotic bildungsroman at its finest.

‘At the heart of David’s The Pharmacist is an oddly touching and bizarre love story, a modern day Harold and Maude set in the drugged-up world of pre-gentrification Shoreditch. The dialogue, especially, bristles with glorious life.’ —JONATHAN KEMP, author of London Triptych

'An exploration of love and loss in the deathly hallows of twenty-first century London. Justin David's prose is as sharp as a hypodermic needle. Unflinching, uncomfortable but always compelling, The Pharmacist finds the true meaning of love in the most unlikely places.'
—NEIL McKENNA, author of Fanny and Stella.

‘As lubricious as early Alan Hollinghurst, The Pharmacist is the perfect introduction to a singular voice in gay literature.’
THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

Justin David is a writer and a publisher. David has been writing since childhood and in 1996, where he interviewed Philip Ridley, the passion for writing and publishing really took off. David has a background in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths and have over time been inspired by the likes of David Lynch, JT Leroy and Kit de Waal. David is also a photographer who's been featured in magazines such as The Times and The Guardian. As a writer and publisher, David focuses on concepts such as LGBTQ+, working class writers and a non-mainstream publishing ethos.

The Pharmacist

'In the desert, no one can hear you, queen'

Justin David’s newly-released novella is part creepy coming-of-age story, part black-comedy, set partly in buzzing 1990s London and partly in barren New Mexico wildlands. 

When Jamie meets Matthew in Soho, he’s drawn to his new-age charms. But when he follows his new friend across the planet to a remote earth-ship in Taos, bizarre incidents begin unfolding and Matthew’s real nature reveals itself: he’s a manipulative monster at the center of a strange cult. 

Jamie finds himself at the center a disturbing psychological nightmare as they seize the opportunity to recruit a new member. Pushed to his limits, lost in a shifting sagebrush landscape, can Jamie trust anyone to help him? And will he ever see home again? 

This evocatively set desert gothic expertly walks the line between macabre humor and terrifying tension. "Kissing the Lizard" is a world unto itself. Perhaps the universe is talking to us after all. 

Justin David is a writer and publisher who focuses on concepts such as LGBTQ+, working-class writers and a non-mainstream publishing ethos. a publisher.