This is not a drill! John Green is writing fiction again!
Green is a well-known name in the publishing industry. He has written iconic young adult novels, such as The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, and Looking for Alaska. These three books were later adapted for film and television.
Green’s last fiction novel, Turtles All the Way Down (which was also adapted for film), was published in 2017. Almost nine years later, Green will finally be giving fans another novel, but this time it’s for adults.
What We Know About Hollywood, Ending
Green announced his upcoming novel on social media via video, including the publication date, information on pre-orders, and details about the plot itself.
Hollywood, Ending will be available to the public on Sept. 22. Until then, devoted fans can pre-order signed copies from the Hollywood, Ending website. Green describes the book as his “first novel for adults,” as both characters are in their 20s.
The characters are starring in a movie together called Andy Warhol Never Gets Old, which is about the last year of Andy Warhol’s life. Green describes that the film starts to “blow up” and the characters’ lives blow up in ways that are “exciting and also complicated and painful.”
He finishes by explaining that the book revolves around “falling in love and living with trauma.” In true John Green fashion, he further alludes to the abstract, breaking the fourth wall to say that the book also does “the thing that we’re doing right now on the social internet where we take pieces of ourselves and exchange them for public attention.”
Green’s Non-Fiction Era
I’m sure some people have been wondering what Green has been up to since 2017, if he hasn’t been writing fiction. Good question! He simply shifted genres for a bit.
In 2021, Green’s book, The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet, was released. Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, Green spends each chapter reflecting on various facets of the modern human experience.
Examples include “Halley’s Comet,” “Scratch ‘n’ Sniff Stickers,” “Whispering,” “The QWERTY Keyboard,” and even “Velociraptors.”
Green’s second non-fiction novel, Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection, was published in 2025. Last year, I read this one as an audiobook the week it came out. Green narrated, and I truly felt like I was listening to a Crash Course series back in high school!
Although his non-fiction novels may be less popular in comparison to his Tumblr literary canon, Green truly has a voice suited for non-fiction.
He’s informative, entertaining, and insightful. He has an incredible knack for making you care about something you would’ve never expected, and broadening your general knowledge and perspective.
Expectations for Hollywood, Ending
With what we already know about Hollywood, Ending, I’m excited! Green always explores his subject matter meaningfully, and I’m itching for the upcoming novel’s main takeaways.
Keeping in mind Green’s previous works, I expect Hollywood, Ending to double-dip in terms of genre. While leaning toward fiction, Green has made strides in letting the public know that he can hold his own when it comes to serious, real-life concerns and conflicts.
We can expect to learn a decent amount about Andy Warhol, the famous American artist, as Hollywood, Ending’s characters will be starring in a film about him while also getting lost in the novel.
The shift in the age of his characters also suggests that the material will take a more mature approach, perhaps heavier than his previous novels (as if themes of terminal cancer, grief, etc., were ever light-hearted).
Brief research into Warhol’s life confirms the complexities of the late artist’s life, leaving plenty of material for Green to pull from.
We don’t know much else about Hollywood, Ending, and the book doesn’t even have a cover yet to help fans further spiral into speculation.
Until we know more, I want to pose one final speculation of my own: maybe Green has shifted to adult fiction to grow with his audience that first fell in love with his writing in the 2000s and 2010s.
I have nothing to back this claim, but the timing feels right. Here’s to hoping that the novel is everything and more long-time fans expect from this iconic contemporary author!
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