Kevin Bridges has written his first novel.

The Black Dog will be published 18th August by Wildfire Books (Fleishman Is In Trouble), an imprint of Hachette UK.

"Here, delighted to finally announce that during the covid jail stints I wrote a novel" the comic wrote on Twitter. "Mental."

Like Bridges, the book's main character, Declan, has a pet labrador. Declan dreams of becoming a writer. It's a dream that helps him escape the realities of his life - going through the motions at college and stacking supermarket shelves part-time, whilst fighting a battle with the ever-darkening thoughts in his head.

The phrase "The black dog" was coined by the Roman poet Horace to describe depression and popularised by Winston Churchill.

Declan has his pet Labrador for companionship and his best friend-turned-mentor, a pseudo-intellectual who works as a greenskeeper at the local municipal golf course, both of which help keep the worst of his anxieties at bay. But following a drunken row with local gangsters, his worries threaten to spiral out of control.

James Cavani - Declan's idol and his hometown's claim to fame - is a renowned writer, director and actor. But despite his success, his past hasn't relinquished its hold of him, and through his younger sister's battle with drug addiction, he finds himself returning to a world he thought he had escaped.

At face value, their lives couldn't be more different, but perhaps fate has a way of bringing kindred spirits together - and perhaps each holds the other's redemption in their hands.

"Yes, I have written a novel, an achievement that I owe to being a technophobe lacking in the patience required to perform comedy over Zoom or to start a podcast during the lockdowns" said Bridges. "One day, during our sentence, I decided to spend a few hours to see what was in my head and in my soul and found that I began writing for hours and then the same thing the next day. After forcing myself to repeat this routine every day for months a book started to appear and the whole process became very enjoyable, cathartic and fulfilling. I hope this comes across in The Black Dog and I hope you enjoy reading something that I'm very proud of, even if only for the fact that having started doing stand up straight from high school, writing it was my first ever proper day job..."

Publisher Alex Clarke comments: "Kevin just has a natural talent for writing. The genius we see in his perceptive, observational comedy has flowed seamlessly into the process of creating this unique and moving novel. The Black Dog is heart-warming, thought-provoking and beautifully told. I can't wait for people to start reading."

The comedian's agent, Rick Hughes, adds: "I'm very pleased to be releasing Kevin's debut novel with Wildfire and working with Alex Clarke again. Alex spotted early on that not only did Kevin have a unique gift for comedy, but also for storytelling. Kevin has produced something really special with The Black Dog and I am looking forward to the public getting their hands on it."

The comic previously published the memoir, We Need To Talk About ... Kevin Bridges, in 2014.

He begins his The Overdue Catch-Up live tour in Liverpool on 15th July.

In 2020, Bridges and his dog Annie appeared in Channel 4 show Celebrity Snoop Dogs: