Stephen Graham unveils "era-defining" book on fathers and sons – and you could take part in it

Stephen Graham will continue the difficult conversation he started with Adolescence in a new book titled Letters to Our Sons, which is currently seeking contributions.

The collection will be comprised of letters written by fathers to their young sons, offering advice and insight into what it means to be a man, with Graham's letter being one of the varied entries.

The recent Emmy winner is developing the project with psychology lecturer Orly Klein, which is inspired by an idea that the latter had when her own son was turning 13 years old.

Other letters featured will come courtesy of members of the public, with publisher Bloomsbury inviting fathers from all walks of life to submit their entries for consideration, in what it hopes will be an "era-defining" work.

In a note on the book's website, Graham and Klein explain: "We want you to write a letter to him, to tell him what you wish you had known when you were younger, what advice you would like to pass on to him, and what – in your opinion – being a man should be about."

They add: "You don't need to be a great writer, we just want you to speak from the heart. If you’re a bit stuck, we've got some prompts for you which might help inspire you.

"And by the way, if you want to be anonymous, that's completely fine, and of course we plan to protect the identity of your son."

You can hear Graham and Klein introduce and discuss Letters to Our Sons in a YouTube video from Bloomsbury. Full terms and conditions, and instructions on how to enter your piece, can be found on the publisher's website.

Graham explained that it was the enormous impact of Adolescence, which he starred in and co-created alongside The Hack's Jack Thorne, that made clear to him the "greater need for communication between fathers and sons".

He commented: "There is arguably an even bigger disconnect than ever before, and I would love to help create more opportunity for fathers to reach out to their sons and carry on the conversation.

"We want to hear from men of all ages, first-time fathers, absent fathers, fathers who’ve been there but never truly been there, fathers who’ve lost and fathers who just want to find a way to say 'I love you', to tell their sons what they mean to them and to talk openly about what it means to be a man."

Orly Klein commented: "When my son turned 13, I asked a range of male friends to write him a letter that explained what they believed made a good man, and what advice they would like to give him.

"Some letters were funny, some were sad, most of them were thoughtful. Stephen and I have a mutual friend, and when I told her about this, she put us in touch, because she knew there was an idea for a book there somewhere.

"She knew that Stephen and I shared the same commitment to tackling the issues facing young men today."

Katy Follain, Head of Bloomsbury General, added: "This is one of those incredible 'pinch-me' moments where we publish a book that has the potential to be a genuine social and cultural movement that goes beyond the book itself.

"Letters to Our Sons is going to help, and possibly save, lives, and I can't think of a better author for it than Stephen Graham, and with Orly Klein's professional expertise, they are going to create something that is urgent and necessary."

Letters to Our Sons is scheduled for release in October 2026 from Bloomsbury.

Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on, or for more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.