Holden Sheppard Shares Invisible Boys Sequel Details And Launches King Of Dirt Tour

Award winning author of Invisible Boys, Holden Sheppard, has shared some exciting details about the upcoming sequel to his hit book.

Sheppard has let his fans know just what we can expect from the next instalment, with some surprising crossover news.

He has also dropped exciting news for his upcoming national tour for his new book, King Of Dirt.

Invisible Boys sequel is officially heading our way next year

2025 has been an incredible year for Holden Sheppard as the television adaptation of his novel Invisible Boys launched on Stan in Australia to rave reviews.

Following the success of the hit show Sheppard also announced his upcoming book King Of Dirt which is to be released next month.

After teasing his fans with news that an Invisible Boys sequel book was officially on the way, he’s now dropped more news and details about the upcoming book.

Titled Yeah The Boys, this next instalment is set to answer all our questions on just what happened to the boys after Charlie and Zeke left Geraldton.

“This new novel follows the three main characters – Charlie, Zeke and Hammer – seven years after the events of the first” reads the official statement.

“No longer teenagers and now living in Perth in the mid-2020s – a long way from the red dirt and small-town scandals of their hometown of Geraldton – the boys are lost and isolated, both from one another and from the hopes and dreams that first brought them to the city.”

“Yeah the Boys is the story of three boys finding their way back to each other, and finding their own ways to become men.”

However if you’re a fan of Holden’s work, you’re in for a treat as Yeah The Boys will tie in with his other books as well.

“In a major crossover moment, Yeah the Boys also serves as a ‘super sequel’ to Sheppard’s second and third novels, bringing Mason from The Brink and Jack from King of Dirt into the story as key secondary characters, along with other supporting characters from both books.”

“I am so stoked to have Yeah the Boys signed with the awesome team at Pantera Press. I came up with the idea for this book many years ago, and my three previous novels have all been building to this “Into the Sheppardverse” book that unites the characters of my novelistic universe” Holden said in a statement.

“I’m honoured by how many readers and viewers have connected on such an emotional level with our main characters Charlie, Zeke and Hammer, and I can’t wait for you to see where they are now. Yeah the Boys is the boldest and most zeitgeisty thing I’ve ever written: it’s a raw, unfiltered take on being a gay man in the 2020s, and a celebration of male bonding and camaraderie.”

Fans waiting to see what’s in store for them in the upcoming King Of Dirt novel won’t have to wait much longer as the book launches on June 3 as Holden launches his national tour.

Holden Sheppard launches national King Of Dirt tour 

King Of Dirt will be Holden’s first novel written for adults and is set to be more powerful, gritty and heartfelt than we’ve experienced from him before.

Where Invisible Boys and The Brink were his young adult novels, King Of Dirt is written for adults and focuses on the much darker, troubled life of Jack Brolo, a tormented, closeted construction worker who spends his days working in the dirt in the far flung corners of Western Australia.

Estranged from his family and full of self loathing, Jack Brolo leads a life of self destruction that appears to only be heading in one direction.

But a family wedding draws Jack back to his home town of Geraldton where he is forced to confront his past and face the prospect of a very different future.

“Turns out Jack’s deeply conservative Italian family would prefer he remained in the closet” reads a description from Pantera Press.

“Then he finds out he may have conceived a son with his teenage girlfriend, and now Jack needs to convince her and her new husband that he’s fit to be a father figure.”

“And whatever happened to Xavier, the former schoolmate who Jack was in love with and whose rejection spurred him to leave Geraldton in the first place? Is Jack doomed to live a dead-end life – or can he open himself up to the possibility of love, found family and connection?”

For Sheppard this is his most personal story yet.

“King of Dirt is the most vulnerable book I’ve ever written” he says.

“Instead of splitting myself into three narrators, as with my previous novels, I’ve channelled everything into one narrator.”

“Like me, Jack Brolo is a misfit of a bloke trying to find his place in the world.”

“His labourer’s voice gives the novel this sense of rowdy, radical honesty about men’s mental health, masculinity, fatherhood, sexuality, and what being a working-class gay man looks like.”

“I’m pumped to share this story, and I can’t wait for readers to meet Jack. I’m also honoured by the reaction to the recent Invisible Boys TV series on Stan, and am excited to celebrate that with readers and viewers on this tour, too.”

Holden will be touring the country with a series of in-conversation events from June through to August this year.

Attendees will get to hear Holden speak about his books, his life and his processes for creating these powerful and gripping stories, with a chance to meet him and get their books signed afterwards.

His tour will kick off in Western Australia on June 3 followed by two Sydney events and one event in Canberra.

He will wrap up the June leg of his tour with four Melbourne events, including an in-conversation with iconic Australian author Christos Tsiolkas at the Victorian Pride Centre.

Resuming in July Sheppard will make three appearances in Adelaide before heading to Queensland for two appearances, including at the Brisbane Powerhouse before returning to Western Australia to conclude the tour.

Full details of the tour can be found on his website.