Rasheed Newson (he/him)

Christopher Marrs

Rasheed Newson is an American television drama writer, producer, showrunner, and novelist. He co-developed and executive produced the Peacock drama Bel-Air, as well as The Chi, Narcos, Animal Kingdom, Shooter, and others. His debut novel, “My Government Means to Kill Me,” was a Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Fiction and one of The New York Times’ “100 Notable Books of 2022.” His second novel, “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood,” published in June 2026, became a national bestseller and was nominated for the Martin Cruz Smith Award.

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Communities: LGBTQ+, African American

Books:

There's Only One Sin in Hollywood

A Novel
Fiction / Literature
Flatiron Books
June 2026
ISBN 9781250406149
hardcover, 0 pages

A cinematic, razor-sharp novel following a backlot fixer’s 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 MeXavier C. Barlow, one of Hollywood’s young Black stars taking the industry by storm in the late 1950s, is Skyline Studios’s 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 Touissant—Skyline’s designated backlot fixer who helps the studio’s stars stay as deep in the closet as humanly possible—is 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, There’s 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. More/less

My Government Means to Kill Me

A Novel
Fiction / Literature
Flatiron Books
August 2023
ISBN 9781250833549
Paperback, 0 pages

NATIONAL BESTSELLER · A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK · A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE · 2023 LAMBDA LITERARY PRIZE FOR GAY FICTION FINALISTThe debut novel from television WRITER/PRODUCER OF THE CHI, NARCOS, and BEL-AIR tells a fierce and riveting queer coming-of-age story following the personal and political awakening of a young, gay, Black man in 1980s New York City. "Consistently engrossing." —New York Times Book Review“Full of joy and righteous anger, sex and straight talk, brilliant storytelling and humor... A spectacularly researched Dickensian tale with vibrant characters and dozens of famous cameos, it is precisely the book we’ve needed for a long time.” —Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less Earl "Trey" Singleton III arrives in New York City with only a few dollars in his pocket. Born into a wealthy Black Indianapolis family, at 17, he is ready to leave his overbearing parents and their expectations behind. In the city, Trey meets up with a cast of characters that changes his life forever. He volunteers at a renegade home hospice for AIDS patients, and after being put to the test by gay rights activists, becomes a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Along the way Trey attempts to navigate past traumas and searches for ways to maintain familial relationships—all while seeking the meaning of life amid so much death.Vibrant, humorous, and fraught with entanglements, Rasheed Newson’s My Government Means to Kill Me is an exhilarating, fast-paced coming-of-age story that lends itself to a larger discussion about what it means for a young gay Black man in the mid-1980s to come to terms with his role in the midst of a political and social reckoning. More/less