Pantera acquires Patrick Lenton rom-com

Pantera Press is thrilled to announce the signing of two-book deal with journalist and writer Patrick Lenton, brokered by Lou Johnson at Key People Literary Management. The deal will commence with his debut novel, Spite Pie – a queer rom-com for fans of Alexis Hall and Casey McQuiston.

Patrick Lenton is a journalist and media personality currently living in Melbourne/Naarm. He has additional bylines in ABC Everyday, The Guardian, The Age/SMH, VICE, Esquire, The Shot and more. Spite Pie is his first work of fiction, and will follow Jeremy as he prepares for the reunion of his prestigious creative writing program. Desperate to impress his more successful ex, Jeremy begins a program to develop a perfect life: the perfect job (that he’s embarrassed about), the perfect body (a work in progress), and the perfect boyfriend (that doesn’t exist). In a last-minute bid to pull off this elaborate ruse, Jeremy enlists the help of Sam, his irritatingly hot gym nemesis and a PR professional, to help him develop the perfect image.

‘I am thrilled and excited and even bamboozled at the chance to introduce Spite Pie, and its messy tale of revenge and love, to a grateful world,’ says Patrick. ‘I think there are a lot of people who will relate to being hurt in a relationship and choosing to do some really elaborate and strange things to try and feel better. It’s been an utter dream to work with Kate and the team at Pantera – from day one I could tell they got the humour, got the message, and above all understood the love story. I can’t think of a better team to help me with this book, and I’m just so excited to work with Pantera.’

Pantera Editorial Director, Kate Cuthbert, also conveyed her excitement for the acquisition. ‘From his Twitter stories about Skyrim dogs to his hilarious short story collections to his ground-breaking newsletter, I’ve been a huge fan of Patrick’s for a long time,’ she says. ‘His is a unique and vibrant voice in Australian letters, and I am so delighted to be working with him to bring his debut novel to the world.’

Patrick is also the editor of the Substack newsletter ‘All The Heterosexual Nonsense’, which covers comedy and pop-culture. Patrick was recently awarded a public interest journalist grant from the Walkley Foundation to grow his ‘Nonsense Newsletter’ and expand its coverage of queer news and culture.

Spite Pie will publish in 2025. The second book will publish in 2026.