love in the age of screenshots, nudes and getting ghosted
Whether you're doomscrolling at midnight, checking out who viewed your story (for 56th time in an hour) or wondering why someone opened your message but never replied, the stories inside left on read will make you feel seen in ways that are comforting, deeply unsettling and sometimes, outright traumatising.
Because deep down, you know this isn't really fiction.
left on read is a collection that captures exactly how it feels to be human in 2025:
desperate for connection, addicted to validation, and slowly losing yourself one notification at a time.
g.c. mckay has written the stories you're currently living.
We've got…
- an OnlyFans girl with Belle Delphine pipe dreams
- a personal confession a la the "I've never had a girlfriend" YouTube craze facetiming revenge plots
- the etymology of "sauce"
- instagram poetry
- a #NoFap hub addict with a parasocial obsession
- and a story plucked out of a self-deleting, online cult
- all sealed with a salacious kiss from Lana Del Rey and a little je ne sais quoi
We've all been left on read, and these painful, hilarious and horrifying stories will show you exactly why it cuts so deep.
Perfect for readers who loved:
- Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte (for the brutal digital-age humour)
- any book considered a dating red flag
- and any Black Mirror episode that made you delete an app
Warning: Contains explicit content of all varieties (mostly in the bedroom), psychological manipulation and uncomfortable truths about modern loneliness. For mature readers only.
"McKay's senses are finely tuned to modern social dynamics… everyone appears caught in the digital maelstrom from which there is no escape."
- James Flynn, author
"There's a lot that's challenging and heartbreaking, but all of it is beautiful… left on read highlights what is currently true in our society."
- Lauren Sapala, author
