Author follows award-winning novel with novel about award-winning author

This 2022 photo released by Dutton shows Jason Mott, author of "Hell of a Book." Dutton announced Thursday that it has reached a deal with Mott for his next book 'People Like Us', scheduled for release next fall. — Photo: Mallory Brady Cash/Dutton via AP

Jason Mott's first novel since Hell Of A Book is a kind of meta-sequel to his award-winning meta-narrative about a Black author's haunting promotional tour.

The Penguin Random House imprint Dutton announced Thursday that it has reached a deal with Mott for People Like Us, in which a prize-winning Black author embarks on a global book tour that finds him experiencing everything from invisibility and time travel to sea monsters and peacocks. Hell of a Book, published in 2021, won the National Book Award for fiction and was chosen for Jenna Bush Hager's Today show book club.