RASHEED NEWSON, Author

🏳️‍🌈 Bestselling Author of "My Government Means To Kill Me" (2022 Lambda Literary Prize for Gay Fiction Finalist) & "There's Only One Sin in Hollywood" (June 2026) 📺 writer: "Bel-Air," "Narcos," "The Chi," "The 100" RasheedNewson.com

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“There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood” hits shelves on June 2, and I’m hitting the road for book events across the country. I’ll be in conversation with magnificent writers and readers at some great indie bookstores (and a library)!

Click here to RSVP and join us!

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Cruising the shadows: A double life unfolds in L.A.’s hidden 1950's nightscape - Queerty

The following is an excerpt from the novel "There's Only One Sin in Hollywood" by Rasheed Newson, out today.

The first taste is free! Go read an except from “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood” on Queerty

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A forgotten Black queer Hollywood is the star of this new novel

Rasheed Newson’s ‘There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood’ maps 1950s studio politics, secret desires and the cost of defiance.

A rave review from the Los Angeles Times on the eve of pub day! There’s no better Hollywood plot twist!

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Check out the music that inspired my new novel, "There's Only One Sin in Hollywood" (out June 2nd).

Full playlist available on Apple Music and Spotify.

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THERE ARE ONLY 3 DAYS until pub day for “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood.”

Tell all the readers in your life! And pre-order your copy today!

Photo Credit: Paul Leonard

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I just blush and my heart races — whenever I see a friend reading my book. And there’s no better example of the joy and pleasure I feel in those instances than these photos of my winsome pal Jesse McCloud.

“There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood” is meant to be a novel that readers can get up close and personal with. So when you get your copy, don’t be afraid to crack the book’s spine, strip off its cover, or dog-ear its pages. 

“There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood” comes out June 2nd.

Pre-order your copy today!

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At night, men found the grounds of Griffith Observatory good for more than stargazing. Read all about in “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood.” (Coming out June 2nd.)

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In “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood,” there are three celebrities whose final resting place is Forest Lawn Memorial Park: Dorothy Dandridge (1922 - 1965), Walt Disney (1901 - 1966), and Xavier C. Barlow (1937 - 1967).  At least one of them was murdered.  Read all about it when the novel hits bookstores on June 2nd.

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I was so excited to see hardback copies of my new novel for the first time…and so was the rest of my family.

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Everyone should know Hazel Scott.

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I blushed at this wonderful praise from Laura Warrell, who captivated me with her sensual and insightful novel “Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm.” She knows erotic when she sees it.

And Laura will be in conversation with me at Octavia’s Bookshelf for the release of “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood” on June 1 at 6pm. Preorder and RSVP today.

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“Deliciously witty...There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood is a quintessential Hollywood novel and an LA classic for our times." - Laura Warrell, author of Sweet, Soft, Plenty, Rhythm

Don’t miss your chance to grab a signed copy - pre-order now through Octavia’s Bookshelf!

⏳ Pre-orders must be placed by May 19th ⏳

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On April 13, 1964, Sidney Poitier made #Oscars history when he won the Best Actor Academy Award for his work in LILIES OF THE FIELD, the first Black actor to do so.

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Josephine Baker performing in her final concert entitled "Josephine" at the Bobino Theater in Paris days before her death in April 1975.

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To capture the 1950s and 1960s stars that appear in my new novel, “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood,” my crafty husband created a version of Guess Who? featuring their faces.

Who wants to play?

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Building Queer Community

New books share stories of LGBTQ+ solidarity, its challenges, and its essential rewards.

Thrilled that I was included (and in such amazing 🏳️‍🌈 company).

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When I was writing “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood” (a novel of historical fiction about Black Hollywood stars in the 1950s and 1960s), I couldn’t resist having Diahann Carroll’s complicated affair with Sidney Poitier play a pivotal role in the story.