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Well, This Is Awkward

The hilarious and uplifting debut novel about finding a family when you least expect it - perfect summer holiday reading. 'Brilliant' – Georgia Toffolo
By Esther Walker
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Brief Description
'I adored this lovely debut about an off-grid child and her sophisticated urban aunt' Wendy Holden, Daily Mail'Warm and funny, what a joy!' Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed'Sharp and funny and full of quirk and heart' Francesca Segal'Superb. Brilliant. I adored it... Esther Walker... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
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Releases 27th October 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "Well, This Is Awkward" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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MairΓ©ad, a child-free talent agency head, has her orderly life upended when her estranged sister's daughter comes to stay after a mysterious accident. What begins as a temporary arrangement soon throws everything into question.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'I adored this lovely debut about an off-grid child and her sophisticated urban aunt' Wendy Holden, Daily Mail

'Warm and funny, what a joy!' Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed

'Sharp and funny and full of quirk and heart' Francesca Segal

'Superb. Brilliant. I adored it... Esther Walker is smart and so funny' Georgia Toffolo

'It's a page-turner' The Spectator

MairΓ©ad is single, child-free and head of a successful influencer talent agency. The young people at work may be mean to her, she hasn't seen her only sister for nine years and she's one bad date away from giving up on men completely - but other than that, she's got life sorted.

Until Sunshine shows up. When her militant, off-grid sister has a mysterious accident, MairΓ©ad's inscrutable niece comes to stay, turning life upside down. It's just for a couple of weeks - surely MairΓ©ad can manage that?

But Sunshine makes her look at every single aspect of her life with different eyes. And MairΓ©ad's afraid nothing will be the same again.

'Walker offers smart, peppy humour and good comic characters who power her tale along with brio' The Times

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781835012581

Publisher: Bedford Square Publishers

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 16 July 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bedford Square Publishers

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 336

Collections

Esther Walker Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Pre-order Books Pre-order General Fiction Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date

About the Author

Esther Walker is a lifestyle journalist whose work has appeared in The Times and The Sunday Times, the Daily Mail, the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the i and Grazia. She is the author of the cult cooking blog Recipe Rifle and now writes the Substack newsletter The Spike, which has 6,000 subscribers. Her first novel, Well, This is Awkward, was published in 2025. Esther also co-hosts an award-nominated weekly topical podcast with her husband for The Times, called Giles Coren Has No Idea. She lives in London.

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  • Well, This Is Awkward
    Warm and funny, what a joy! Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed Superb. Brilliant. I adored it... Esther Walker is smart and so funny Georgia Toffolo A funny, clever, sparkling voice Kate Weinberg Well, This Is Awkward introduces us to MairΓ©ad, who is single, child-free, and the head of a successful influencer talent agency. Despite the young people at...
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