The Back Up Man by Phoebe Luckhurst published today

Happy publication day to Phoebe Luckhurst, author of the wonderful new romcom The Back Up Man.

Twenty-nine, single, jobless and in a house share with her cousin who can barely look at her, things could be going better for Anya Mackie.

When she stumbles across the pact she made with high school crush, Euan Carrick – to marry at thirty if they’re still single – a silly teenage idea suddenly seems like a lifeline.

However, Euan hasn’t been seen for a decade.

Reluctantly enlisting the help of Euan’s emotionally unavailable best mate Jamie Kildare, who has his own mysterious reasons for tracking Euan down, Anya sets off across the country to find her Back Up Man.

This hilarious, heart-warming tale is published by Penguin Michael Joseph and has already received brilliant reviews from major magazines.

Phoebe Luckhurst is one of the funniest new novelists out there. Perfect for anyone who has ever attempted to stalk an ex on Facebook (all of us, then) ― Evening Standard

Phoebe Luckhurst is a London-based journalist. She is Senior Commissioning Editor at the Sunday Times Magazine and was previously the Acting Features Editor of the Evening Standard. She has written for the Guardian, Sunday Times Style, ELLE, ES Magazine, Grazia, The Telegraph and Vogue. Her debut novel The Lock In was published by Penguin Michael Joseph in 2021 and was nominated for the 2022 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction.

Congratulations, Phoebe!