The Fathers

Author: John Niven

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 4 June 2026 by Canongate Books in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 368 pages
197 x 129 x 25 | 252g

'Very funny' Guardian 'Inkwell black and surprisingly tender' ADAM KAY 'Outrageous' MARINA HYDE 'A blockbusting explosion of toxic masculinity' SpectatorIn a busy maternity ward, first-time father Dan meets Jada, a dad welcoming his fifth - no, sixth? - child into the world. But Dan and Jada come from very different places: both called Glasgow. Dan is a successful TV writer with a townhouse in the West End and a shiny Tesla ready to drive his wife and baby home. Jada is a hustling, small-time criminal who is already planning how to separate Dan from some of the luxuries Jada has never been able to enjoy in his tiny flat in a Brutalist sixties council block.

When a tragedy occurs, Dan and Jada's worlds are brought closer than either could ever have imagined - close enough that it could mean destruction for both of them . . .