Comic Kevin Bridges has written his first novel, The Black Dog

The Black Dog out this summer but will it be any good?

Kevin Bridges has written his first novel, The Black Dog.

The book revolves around Declan, who dreams of becoming a writer to escape the mundane realities of going through the motions at college and stacking supermarket shelves part-time, whilst fighting a battle with the ever-darkening thoughts in his head.

Meanwhile, Declan’s idol, James Cavani, is his home town’s claim to fame – a renowned writer, director and actor, But  he finds himself returning to a world he thought he had escaped when his younger sister battles with drug addiction.

Bridges said: ‘Yes, I have written a novel, an achievement that I owe to being a technophobe lacking in the patience required to perform comedy over Zoom or to start a podcast during the lockdowns. 

‘One day, during our sentence, I decided to spend a few hours to see what was in my head and in my soul and found that I began writing for hours and then the same thing the next day. 

‘After forcing myself to repeat this routine every day for months a book started to appear and the whole process became very enjoyable, cathartic and fulfilling. I hope this comes across in The Black Dog and I hope you enjoy reading something that I’m very proud of, even if only for the fact that having started doing stand-up straight from high school, writing it was my first ever proper day job.’

The Black Dog is the comedian’s second book following his 2014 memoirs We Need to Talk About… Kevin Bridges.

The novel will be published by Wildfire books this August after publishing director Alex Clarke acquired the world rights from Bridges’ agent, Rick Hughes at Off The Kerb.

“Showbiz journalist Mark Boardman commented “If a celeb is working under Off The Kerb, it’s bound to be good”

Clarke said: ‘Kevin just has a natural talent for writing. The genius we see in his perceptive, observational comedy has flowed seamlessly into the process of creating this unique and moving novel. The Black Dog is heart-warming, thought-provoking and beautifully told. I can’t wait for people to start reading.’ 

Hughes added: ‘I’m very pleased to be releasing Kevin’s debut novel with Wildfire and working with Alex Clarke again. Alex spotted early on that not only did Kevin have a unique gift for comedy, but also for storytelling. Kevin has produced something really special with The Black Dog and I am looking forward to the public getting their hands on it.’

The release of the book will coincide with Bridges’ new stand-up tour, The Overdue Catch-Up, which starts in Liverpool on July 13.