The Gallopers

Shortlisted for the Polari Book Prize 2024

‘A dreamlike atmosphere permeates the novel … The Gallopers reads very much like Tennessee Williams, so that - if you can believe it - this 1950s Norfolk takes on the atmosphere of Williams's Deep South … Ransom's writing matches sensitivity with winning boldness and stands out for its emotional honesty.’ TLS

'The Gallopers is a short, contained novel … This idiosyncratic style, added to the under-addressed subject matter of working-class gay life, gives The Gallopers tremendous character and flavour, reminding us that one way to make a book stand out from the crowd is to have a distinctive vision and stick to it … a novel of such confidence and control that it’s hard to believe it’s only the author’s second book.’ Financial Times

‘The Gallopers is a whispered howl of a novel about men fettered by masculine norms, the ideas and pressures that curtail their freedom, and the bargains they strike with others and themselves in order to live … Some of its best and most poignant passages capture the ghoulish discord between queerness and the law, the individual and the world, truth and deceit.’ The Guardian, Book of the day

‘Ransom’s visceral sense of place is a triumph … With his atmospheric command of setting and piercing insights into the human condition, he has cemented himself as one of the most exciting voices in the literary canon today.’ Scene

‘Gritty and unsettling, Jon Ransom has crafted a story of discovery and loss, the circularity of life and the shockwaves which ripple out from the centre of tragedy.’ The Irish News

‘A book packed with explosive secrets and deception, but it’s the hard-to-express emotions and the longing for love that lends this poignant tale its momentum.’ The Daily Mail

‘Ransom is a master of foreboding … A tense, visceral study of desire, deception, marginalisation and loss.’ The Bookseller

‘The Gallopers is an excellent and vital addition to the queer canon.’ Matt Cain

Winner of the Polari First Book Prize 2023

‘A brilliant new voice in queer literature.’ Wild Nest Pictures

‘A powerful new voice of gay working-class life … This eloquent, heartfelt debut pulls the reader right beside him, and announces Ransom as a writer of real talent.’ The Guardian

‘Remarkable for its atmosphere, its arresting use of language and the way the environment serves as an extension of Joe’s psyche. A potent tale of grief, love and ultimately forgiveness.’ The Spectator

‘The Whale Tattoo is a book of visceral, magnetic, raw pulsating beauty. A mesmeric, gritty tour de force … This book is the reason why people love to read.’ Uli Lenart, Attitude

‘Complex, fraught and violent, The Whale Tattoo reads like an early Tracy Lett’s play – a steaming mix of blue-collar rage and menace.’ Queer Review

‘A stunning achievement – one of the most impressive and assured debuts I’ve ever read.’ Matt Cain

‘A bold, brilliant and beautiful debut.’ Suzannah Dunn

‘A fine work of queer literature.’ Damian Barr

‘The renaissance of queer writing is expanding into fiction … evidenced in the brilliant The Whale Tattoo.’ Andrew McMillan, Big Issue North

‘Raw, uncompromising, and authentic, a remarkable debut from an astonishingly gifted writer.’ Golnoosh Nour

‘Lyrical, atmospheric and brutal by turns.’ Guardian Best Fiction of 2022

The Whale Tattoo – Gay’s the Word Books of the Year 2022