There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson

This November, BookSwell’s Read Local SoCal pick is There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson: a backlot fixer, a closeted Black star, and the queer history of Hollywood’s golden age. Meet Rasheed live at WeHo Reads on Wednesday, Nov. 4 and read along with us through Nov. 22.

Buy on Bookshop.org → Get the free discussion guide ↓

About the book

Cover of There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson

“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… a searing portrait of the movie industry as a manicured minefield and a compelling journey into the queer history of Los Angeles.”

“Newson’s impressive gifts for story, for writing the erotic and the noir, and for rooting himself in his adopted city are on magnificent display here.”
L.A. Times

“An unflinching drama about queer Black history in the guise of a glittering, slow-burn mystery about a closeted actor in Hollywood’s golden age.”
Kirkus

Published by Flatiron Books (Macmillan), June 2026. Literary Fiction. National bestseller.

Meet Rasheed Newson

Novelist Rasheed Newson is the author of the national bestseller My Government Means to Kill Me, which was named one of The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2022, and the critically-acclaimed There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood, which explores Black LGBTQ+ life during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Why it’s a SoCal read: the novel is set in Hollywood’s golden age and the queer history of Los Angeles, and Rasheed lives in Pasadena. He reads at WeHo Reads: No Apologies on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., online and free, with Marcus Clayton, Joshua Escobar, and Kaila Yu.

Follow Rasheed on Instagram at @rasheed.newson.author and at rasheednewson.com.

In the guide: a Q&A with Rasheed Newson

This month’s free discussion guide includes a Q&A with Rasheed on the man doing the hiding, the price of manufactured stardom, and the real Los Angeles history behind the novel.

“This whole book began with me getting immersed in the history of the Black Cat Raid.”
Rasheed Newson, in the November Read Local SoCal discussion guide

Companion reads

More from Rasheed, two more books to read alongside this one, and books from his WeHo Reads: No Apologies co-readers. Bookshop.org affiliate purchases support the author and independent bookstores.

Cover of My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson. Rasheed’s first novel, a national bestseller and one of The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2022.

Cover of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. A reclusive Old Hollywood star finally tells the story behind her seven marriages, and the love she kept hidden.

Cover of Gay L.A. by Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons

Gay L.A. by Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons. The history of queer Los Angeles that Rasheed drew on while researching the novel.

¡PÓNK! by Marcus Clayton. A collection of inter-genre prose from a multigenre Afrolatino writer from South Gate. Marcus reads with Rasheed at WeHo Reads on Nov. 4.

Cover of Demons of Eminence by Joshua Escobar

Demons of Eminence by Joshua Escobar. The Bo Huston Award-winning novel from a poet, novelist, and screenwriter from Southern California’s Inland Empire. Joshua reads with Rasheed on Nov. 4.

Fetishized by Kaila Yu. The debut memoir from a Los Angeles-based author and journalist. Kaila reads with Rasheed on Nov. 4.

Rasheed recommends

Books Rasheed has recommended or named as favorites, in his July 2026 interview with the Los Angeles Public Library.

Funeral Diva by Pamela Sneed. Poems and essays about Black queer life and loss in 1980s New York. “I also evangelize for Pamela Sneed’s Funeral Diva.”

Cover of Gay Bar: Why We Went Out by Jeremy Atherton Lin

Gay Bar: Why We Went Out by Jeremy Atherton Lin. An LA-based writer’s history of gay bars and the people who gathered in them. On his nightstand: he’s rereading it.

Vanishing Rooms by Melvin Dixon. Melvin Dixon’s 1991 novel of love and loss in gay New York. Out of print; look for it at your library or a used bookstore. “I love his last novel, Vanishing Rooms.”

Cover of Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. Milkman Dead’s search for his family’s past. “I thought Toni Morrison wrote Song of Solomon for me, personally.”

Sonata Mulattica by Rita Dove. Poems about George Polgreen Bridgetower, the Black violin prodigy to whom Beethoven first dedicated a sonata. Recommended by Rasheed.

Cover of The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel García Márquez

The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel García Márquez. García Márquez’s novel of an aging Caribbean dictator. “I’ve reread The Autumn of the Patriarch more than any other book in my life.”

Cover of The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. Linked stories about the staff of an English-language newspaper in Rome. It “hit me from so many different unexpected angles.”

Cover of The Lookback Window by Kyle Dillon Hertz

The Lookback Window by Kyle Dillon Hertz. Kyle Dillon Hertz’s debut novel. It “builds and builds.”

Cover of Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton

Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton. The autobiography of the Black Panther Party’s co-founder. The book that changed his life: “I borrowed Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton from my father’s bookshelf.”

How to participate

Get the book on Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores.
Download the free discussion guide, built for book clubs or reading on your own.
Meet Rasheed live at WeHo Reads: No Apologies, Wednesday, Nov. 4, online and free.
Join the conversation. Follow @bookswellclub and tag your thoughts with #ReadLocalSoCal.

Get the free discussion guide

Sign up and we’ll send you the There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood discussion guide, plus a mid-month question and a wrap-up as we read along together.

About Read Local SoCal

Read Local SoCal is BookSwell’s monthly celebration of local authors, with a special spotlight on Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, LGBTQ+, women, nonbinary, and indie writers. One book a month. Think globally, read locally.

See past features →