Michael out in November

Details of Bob Mortimer's fourth novel have been revealed.

Out in November, in time for Christmas, Michael will revolve around a man who comes back from the dead and  transported back to his childhood years.

Publishers Gallery Books describe it as ‘a wise, funny and moving novel about growing up and finding your way’.

Their blurb says: ‘Michael has had a big life. A life of abundance and applause. But now he's dead (or at least he's pretty sure he is). He is given the chance to return - but it comes with a catch. He ends up back in a time he'd tried to forget.

‘He and his mum have been forced to start again after his dad's death: new house, new school, no mates. Worse still, his mum has a new boyfriend, a man with suspiciously close-set eyes and the word DRYWALL tattooed on his forearm. He mostly spends his time in his bedroom, drawing cars and making Airfix models. Things seem hopeless.

'But as the months pass, Michael slowly begins to find his place. Helped by new friendships and the unexpected kindness of his neighbour, Mr Graham, what starts as the worst year of Michael's life might actually turn out to be the one that makes him. Life looks different second time around.’

Mortimer previously wrote the bestsellers The Satsuma Complex in 2022, The Hotel Avocado in 2024 and The Long Shoe in 2025.

Michael is available from Amazon priced £17.45 in hardback – or from uk.bookshop.org, below, which supports independent bookstores.  

Published: 14 Sep 2026