Fiction – Historical – Performing Arts – Film, Telvision, & Radio – African American & Black – LGBTQ+ – Gay

RELEASE DATE: 6/2/2026 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER’S WAREHOUSE)

A cinematic, razor-sharp novel following a backlot fixers daring investigation into the suspicious death of a closeted Black actor within the glamorous world of Hollywood, from the bestselling author of My Government Means to Kill Me

Xavier C. Barlow, one of Hollywoods young Black stars taking the industry by storm in the late 1950s, is Skyline Studioss ambitious attempt to rival Sidney Poitier’s burgeoning success. His arrival into the industry is calculated, his charm is magnetic, and his seductive screen presence appeals to both audiences and celebrities across generations.

But years later, after Xavier dies at the height of his fame, Aaron TouissantSkylines designated backlot fixer who helps the studios stars stay as deep in the closet as humanly possibleis finally ready to expose the powerful culprits responsible for his untimely death.

Written as part-confessional, part-cris de coeur from Aaron’s panoramic lens, Theres Only One Sin in Hollywood is a searing portrait of the movie industry as a manicured minefield and a compelling journey into the queer history of Los Angeles.

AUTHOR BIO:

Rasheed Newsonis the author of the national bestsellerMy Government Means to Kill Me, which was selected as a Lambda Literary finalist for Gay Fiction and was named one of the “100 Notable Books of 2022” byThe New York Times. He is also a television drama writer, producer, and showrunner. He codevelopedBel-Airand worked onThe Chi,Animal Kingdom, andNarcos, among other drama series. Newson is a 2025-26 American Library in Paris Visiting Fellow. He currently lives with his husband and their two children in Pasadena.

Early Praise for THERE’S ONLY ONE SIN IN HOLLYWOOD

“Deliciously witty and packing enough erotic heat to make sensitive souls clutch their pearls, Rasheed Newson’s superb second novel brings us Xavier, a rising superstar determined to liberate queer Hollywood from a culture that demands silence and acquiescence. In studio boardrooms and backlots twinkling with VIPs named Poitier and Belafonte, unknowns try to become legends and heroes struggle to be heroic. Newson writes in technicolor–wow, are these pages alive!–and knows where the bodies are buried. Love, fame, war, religion, political freedom, big dreams and big money–There’s Only One Sin in Hollywoodis a quintessential Hollywood novel and an LA classic for our times.”
–Laura Warrell, author ofSweet, Soft, Plenty, Rhythm

“In Rasheed Newson’sThere’s Only One Sin in Hollywood, inhumane history snares all lovelorn seekers, transforming fixers and actors into potent dreamers who frequent and abandon their fates with disastrous and extraordinary resolve. Propelled by a haunted jaunty narration that makes a lively case for the necessity of memory,There’s Only One Sin in Hollywoodillustrates and innervates the queer midcentury. This novel is an erotically-charged, violent masterpiece of love.”
–Kyle Dillon Hertz, author ofThe Lookback Window

“Living up to its provocative title, Rasheed Newson’sThere’s Only One Sin in Hollywoodoffers a deft and deliciously decadent excavation of Black queer history. Sexy, sly, and with a piquant sense of humor, Newson’s prose handily shuttles you between glittering post-war Hollywood backlots and dimly-lit lurid cruising spots in Griffith Park–all while making a period piece about a fixer stuck between two worlds feel impossibly urgent and fresh.”
–Manuel Betancourt, author ofHello Stranger

“Newson’s sophomore novel is a cinematic voyage into the decadence and inherent tragedy of old Hollywood. As characters jockey to Trojan Horse a queer narrative within the undertones of a war hero’s biopic, we the readers are morosely confronted with how little has changed in the past sixty years. Newson anatomizes lesser known cultural history while simultaneously inventing such beloved, gorgeously flawed and veristic characters, one is stunned to remember it’s fiction. In thematic homage to his debut,There’s Only One Sin in Hollywoodmixes readers a salacious cocktail of love, ambition, legacy and activism. This is the story Hollywood hoped would never see the light of day.”
–Jason Yamas, author ofTweakerworld

“Rasheed Newson delivers another triumph and staple of queer literature with this noir-style, page turning novel that captures both the regretful and hopeful timelessness of the gay struggle. If Hollywood has only one sin, I hope this book is part of its salvation.”
–Byron Lane, author ofBig Gay Wedding

“A sharp, glamorous reimagining of Old Hollywood that is as much an examination of race and politics as it is sex and debauchery.There’s Only One Sin in Hollywoodis equal parts memorial and reclamation–a hard-earned spotlight on an oft forgotten corner of Black queer entertainment history–proving once again that Rasheed Newson