'An incredibly assured debut novel - humane, heartfelt and beautifully observed. Roseman raises huge questions about identity, belonging and family, excelling in his depiction of the small, everyday exchanges which make or break a relationship. A quietly, powerful novel, from a writer I'm keen to keep my eye on'

- JAN CARSON, author of Quickly, While They Still Have Horses 

'There's no way around it: James Roseman writes beautifully. Confident, complex, moving, funny, Placeholders is a novel that makes a beeline to the heart. Time and again, I didn't want it to end'

- DECLAN TOOHEY, author of Perpetual Comedown 

'Placeholders is a beautiful debut. A quietly moving reminder that people, not ideas, are what make or break a home or a heart'

- SHEILA ARMSTRONG, author of Falling Animals 

'An intimate, unflinching, and, above all, heartfelt novel, the best debut I've read this year. Buy your Roseman stock early. I loved this'

- RONAN RYAN author of The Fractured Life of Jimmy Dice 

 'A subtle, beautifully written story of two young people trying to make a life – together and as individuals – under the pressures of late  capitalism… written with an unflinching tenderness' - LARISSA PHAM, author of Pop Song