Foreshore Books is delighted to announce the acquisition of Late Night Elvis, the debut novel by acclaimed broadcaster, journalist and playwright Rob Crossan. The novel will be published in Summer 2027, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death.
A bold and original work of literary fiction, Late Night Elvis explores the mystery, mythology and decline of one of the most recognisable figures of the twentieth century. Set on an imagined evening in April 1975, the novel centres on a fictional appearance by Elvis Presley on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson during the final years of his Las Vegas residency.
It is 11 April 1975, and twilight is falling on the King.
Across America, millions gather around their television sets to watch a meeting between two giants of entertainment: Johnny Carson, the prince of late-night television, and Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll. Yet the real battle may not be taking place under the studio lights. Behind the rhinestones, the swagger and the spectacle, Elvis is fighting a private war against exhaustion, isolation and addiction.
Told through multiple voices and perspectives, Late Night Elvis examines the forces that create, sustain and ultimately consume fame. Through the eyes of Elvis’s bodyguard, his father, his girlfriend, his manager Colonel Tom Parker, his daughter, devoted fans and television insiders, Crossan constructs a vivid portrait of a cultural icon approaching the end of his reign.
The novel asks enduring questions about celebrity and ownership. Who controls the rise and fall of a superstar? The artist themselves, the entourage that surrounds them, or the audience that demands ever more? When does adoration become exploitation? And who decides when it is finally time for the curtain to fall?
The acquisition comes at a moment when public fascination with Elvis Presley remains remarkably strong. Recent years have seen major cultural reappraisals of the Presley story through Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Riley Keough and Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir From Here to the Great Unknown, and Peter Guralnick’s much-discussed biography of Colonel Tom Parker. Yet despite countless biographies, documentaries and films, Elvis himself remains an elusive figure.
Late Night Elvis approaches that mystery through fiction, offering a literary exploration of the man behind the myth and the strange machinery of fame that transformed him into an American deity.
Rob Crossan is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, playwright and voice artist. A regular contributor to publications including Condé Nast Traveller, The Telegraph, The Mail and The Spectator, he has also created, presented and contributed to numerous BBC Radio programmes, including the acclaimed Ouch podcast and The Happiness Map on BBC Radio 6 Music.
In 2024, his debut play, The Gaffer, was named a Critics’ Choice at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He is also an established audiobook narrator, with numerous Audible productions to his credit.
Crossan grew up near Liverpool and now lives in London. He has also lived in South Africa and Alabama, experiences that informed his long-standing interest in American culture and the legacy of Elvis Presley. During his time in the Deep South he travelled extensively through Elvis landmarks and interviewed both Priscilla Presley and members of the famed “Memphis Mafia”.
The author, who is visually impaired as a result of ocular albinism and nystagmus, cites Joyce Carol Oates’ Blonde, David Peace’s Red Riding Quartet and Gordon Burn’s Alma Cogan among the inspirations behind the novel.
Advance praise for Late Night Elvis has already begun to emerge.
“The closest we might ever get to understanding Elvis’ true inner universe.” — Julie Burchill
“Inventive, interesting, captivating — and heartbreaking.” — Jeremy Vine
Phil Shirley, Publisher at Foreshore Books, said:
“Late Night Elvis is one of the most distinctive debut novels we have encountered. Rob Crossan has taken one of the most written-about figures in modern culture and found an entirely fresh way into his story. The result is moving, ambitious, darkly funny and deeply humane. We are thrilled to be bringing it to readers in the fiftieth anniversary year of Elvis Presley’s death.”
Late Night Elvis will be published by Foreshore Books in Summer 2027.
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