Teenage star Stephen Graham launches a global project asking parents to write to their children books

Stephen Graham, the Emmy Award-winning actor known for the hit Netflix film Teenage, has launched a new project asking fathers to write letters to their sons about what it means to be a man, to form a book about masculinity.

The project invites parents around the world to write personal letters to their children, reflecting their parental experiences. Graham will work with psychology lecturer Orly Klein to compile Letters to Our Children, which is due to be published by Bloomsbury next October.

“There is arguably a greater disconnect between parents and children than ever before,” Graham said. “We want to hear from men of all ages, first-time dads, absentee dads, dads who were there but never really there, dads who were lost and dads who just want to find a way to say I love you, to tell their sons what they mean to them, and to talk openly about what it means to be a man.”

Parents can submit their letters from Wednesday, October 15, until January 12, 2026, via the project’s website. Selected letters will appear alongside contributions by Graham and other well-known figures.

The project follows the success of Teenage, a limited television series co-created by Graham. The show, which became Netflix’s second most-watched English-language show in the world, addressed modern masculinity and the pressures teenage boys face in the digital world.

“After adolescence, I realized how little space there is for fathers and sons to talk openly about what it means to be a man today,” Graham said.

The series has sparked widespread debate in the UK and abroad about the role of fathers, male role models and toxic influences online. MP Anneliese Midgley urged the film to be shown in Parliament and schools, saying it could help tackle violence against women and girls. Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the motion, saying he was watching the show With his teenage children “hitting the house hard.” On March 31, it was announced that the series would be made available for free to secondary schools in the United Kingdom.

The idea for the book also grew out of Klein’s own experience: when her son turned 13, she asked her male friends to write him letters offering advice about growing into adulthood. She talked about it with a mutual friend of Graham’s, who then reached out to them, knowing “there was an idea for a book somewhere”.

Klein, whose academic work focuses on marginalization, identity, and youth culture, has previously worked on projects such as Room to Rant, which uses rap music as a therapeutic tool for youth.

Activists and educators have warned of the growing influence of “manosphere” figures and extremist ideologies targeting vulnerable young people. Earlier this year, a study found that 69% of boys aged 11 to 14 encountered posts promoting misogyny. Meanwhile, research by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children found that 42% of parents reported hearing their children make inappropriate comments – including sexual, violent or degrading comments – about women and girls, because of what they saw online.

The book’s publisher, Bloomsbury, described the book as a project that has the potential to spark “a real social and cultural movement.”

Will Graham and Klein make a donation for every letter published to the MANUP charity? and social enterprise Dad La Soul, two organizations that help young people struggling with mental health.