The 'raucous' debut novel set entirely on one epic night out

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. The 'raucous' debut novel set entirely on one epic night out1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleIan YoungsCulture reporterAlina AkbarSufiyaan Salam's book Wimmy Road Boyz is set during one night on Wilmslow Road in ManchesterHe has received a literary award from Stormzy, been nominated for a Bafta, and made a video for Sir Elton John. Now, Sufiyaan Salam has written one of the year's most hotly tipped debut novels, set over an epic night out in Manchester. It's the morning after the night before on Manchester's famous Curry Mile.

Most of the eating establishments that line this stretch of road are hidden behind metal shutters, and a trickle of people and cars pass through. It was a very different scene the previous night, when the restaurants and road were packed with revellers celebrating Eid. "There's something interesting about seeing it this morning," says Sufiyaan Salam, surveying the sleepy street.

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"It looks cool, but it's just a street, and there's a lot of takeaways and shisha bars and a random pharmacy. "When I was here last night, and it was Eid, the whole thing was just blocked with cars. People were queuing up so they can just drive around again, and then they'll stop at the other end and come back.

"Last night, and most nights, you have people spilling out onto the streets. "There were two kids sitting on top of a car with vuvuzelas, just making as much noise as possible. "On nights like those, the Curry Mile is transformed into a "mythical" place, Salam says.

"For me, when I was a kid, and coming here as a teenager with the boys, and when I come here as an adult, there's this feeling that it's not quite a reality," he explains. "You've slipped into this... It's like a religious pilgrimage in a way.

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That's what's interesting. "That's the heady, heightened atmosphere that the author has tried to capture in his novel Wimmy Road Boyz. Toby MerrittWimmy Road Boyz won the New Writers' Prize from Stormzy's #Merky Books in 2024The book follows three British-Pakistani friends in their early twenties over a chaotic night on Wilmslow Road, of which the Curry Mile is a part.

In 2024, the book won the New Writers' Prize from Stormzy's #Merky Books. Merky called it a "blistering debut novel", and Stormzy declared that he "loved it". It also earned 28-year-old Salam a place on the Observer's list of the best debut novelists of 2026, with the paper saying "his raucous, wildly inventive prose is bound for a much bigger audience".

The book was partly inspired by a night out the author had with two male friends after lockdown, he explains, speaking in one of the few Curry Mile cafes that are open on this March morning. Salam was going through "tough personal life stuff" at the time, but didn't feel he could bring it up because it "would just bring the mood down". "So we never discussed it and we just had, on the surface level, a very fun night," he says.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.