Grand Scheme of Things
'This blistering story puts you in mind of last year's blockbuster hit, Yellowface . . . Enjoyable, riotously mischievous and gleefully direct, without losing nuance or lapsing into caricature' Daily Mail
Meet Relebogile Naledi Mpho Moruakgomo. Or, for short, Eddie: an aspiring playwright who dreams of making it big in London's theatre world. But after repeated rejections from white talent agents, Eddie suspects her non-white sounding name might be the problem.
Enter Hugo Lawrence Smith: good looking, well-connected, charismatic and . . . very white. Stifled by his law degree and looking for a way out of the corporate world, he finds a kindred spirit in Eddie after a chance encounter at a cafe.
Together they devise a plan which will see Eddie's play on stage and Hugo's name in lights and expose the theatre world for its racism and hollow clout-chasing. But as their plan spins wildly out of control, Eddie and Hugo find themselves wondering if their reputations, and their friendship, can survive.
Born in Botswana, raised in the West Midlands, UK and living in London, Warona Jay studied law at the University of Kent and King's College London before switching to a creative writing PhD at Brunel. She was shortlisted for the Sony Young Movellist of the Year Award judged by Malorie Blackman and longlisted for Penguin Random House's WriteNow Scheme in 2020.
The Grand Scheme of Things is her debut novel.