Channing Tatum, the heartthrob known for his moves in ‘Magic Mike’, is stepping into a new spotlight. He is teaming up with acclaimed author Roxane Gay to pen a romance novel set for release late this year.Their collaboration kicked off in a fun way back in 2017. A journalist asked Tatum if he knew about Gay, who had a crush on him and wrote the book Bad Feminist. “A journalist inquired if he was aware of a writer who had a crush on him and authored a book titled ‘ Bad Feminist,” Roxane recounted on the Lip on the 95 podcast. “He responded, ‘Oh, I haven’t come across it-but I’ll check it out.’ And he did just that.”Soon after, someone pitched Tatum a book idea. He jumped at the chance to co-write it with Roxane Gay. Their creative bond grew fast from there, leading to this exciting project.
Plot blends reality and heat
The story draws from real-life pacts many make with friends. It follows two people who agree to marry if they are single at 40. They follow through and find love later. “You know how people often make those pacts like, ‘If we hit 40 and are still single, let’s get married.’ So they go through with the marriage and then discover love afterward,” Gay explained on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last year. “A voluntary arranged marriage. With plenty of sex happening in a bakery.”Roxane Gay calls it “incredibly steamy,” she shared. The novel is “very, very s***y” and full of fun, she added in a recent interview.
Channing Tatum’s writing skills
Tatum already has experience with books. He wrote the Sparkella series for kids, inspired by his daughter, Everly, 12, from his marriage to Jenna Dewan. Gay has praised his approach throughout their work. “For some reason, he has a profound understanding of his privilege. He doesn’t shy away from it, which is quite refreshing. He’s an extraordinarily attractive, famous, wealthy white man. There’s no need for him to pretend that it isn’t advantageous. Yet, he treats people kindly,” she told Vanity Fair in 2023.Tatum himself spoke about the project earlier. “She has almost a roughed-out outline of a story that we both love. We just got to find time to do it. She’s the busiest, she’s way busier than I am,” he said.
Fans line up eagerly for the release
This marks Tatum’s leap into adult romance fiction after his children’s books. Gay sees it as a balance to her heavier topics like physical violence and racial injustice. “So much of what I write about is incredibly depressing and incredibly difficult… So I always try to balance the darkness with hopefully some light and joy,” she noted.The book arrives late 2026, promising heat and heart. Fans of Tatum’s charm on screen will love seeing his words bring romance to life.
