Bobby Palmer is a British author and journalist. His critically acclaimed debut novel, Isaac and the Egg, was published in the UK in 2022 and was a Waterstones Paperback of the Year.
His latest novel, Main Characters, was a Book of the Month pick in June 2026 ahead of its simultaneous US and UK publication.
Bobby co-hosted the much-loved literary podcast Book Chat with Pandora Sykes, and his writing has appeared in GQ, Esquire, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan and more.
Main Characters
Clara and Seb are about to fall in love. They don't know it yet. But everybody else does.
When Clara and Seb meet in a quiet corner of London, it's the start of something. She wants to be a director. He's an actor, unsure what he wants from life.
Their connection is magnetic. Everyone can see that falling in love looks something like this. But when Clara casts Seb in the film that will make her name, what should be the happiest time of their lives ends with a gut-wrenching betrayal.
Some love stories are bigger than just two people. This one is told through the eyes of friends, flatmates, exes and strangers who see all the sides of Seb and Clara, from their first date to the moment they fell apart.
Everyone has their version of events. But only Clara and Seb can decide how their story ends…
“There aren’t only two sides to every story. There are sides, and there are sides, and there are sides.”
— MAIN CHARACTERS, BOBBY PALMER
Isaac and the Egg
Heartbreaking and heart-stealing, this bestselling modern-day fable is an unforgettable novel about sorrow, joy, friendship and love.
When Isaac Addy walks into the woods on the worst day of his life and finds something extraordinary there, he already knows he's going to take it home.
A grieving Isaac and his curious new friend are unlikely companions. They don't even speak the same language. But their chance encounter will transform Isaac's life in ways he cannot yet imagine. And maybe he will finally be able to tell the truth.
Sometimes, to get out of the woods, you have to go into them. Isaac and the Egg is one of the most hopeful, honest and wildly imaginative novels you will ever read.
“Reality is fragile. All it takes is a gentle tap to break its shell.”
— ISAAC AND THE EGG, BOBBY PALMER
Small Hours
The eagerly awaited second novel from Bobby Palmer, author of the critically acclaimed debut Isaac and the Egg.
If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through the trees into the garden, here's what you'd see. A father and son, a fox standing between them. Jack, home for the first time in years, still determined to be the opposite of his father. Gerry, who would rather talk to animals than the angry man back under his roof.
Everything that follows is because of the fox, and because Jack's mother is missing. It spans generations of big dreams and lost time, unexpected connections and things falling apart, great wide worlds and the moments that define us.
If you met them in the small hours, you'd begin to piece together their story.