Name: Following the Red Thread: The Beautiful Game
Author: Kamaljot Singh Panesar

01 / 05 The book

What it is about.

“How much of yourself have you had to erase... just to belong?”

Dhuruv Singh is Chinese by birth, Sikh by blood, and British by passport.

As football fever builds towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he finds himself navigating three cultures, family expectations, friendship, faith and the relentless question of where he truly belongs.

From the rooftops of Chengdu to the football pitches of northern England, a simple red thread follows him across continents and generations. Part family story, part sporting journey and part search for identity, it becomes a guide through the moments that shape a life.

As academy football, school life and questions of belonging begin to collide, Dhuruv discovers that the challenge is not choosing between different parts of himself.

It is learning how to carry them all.

Blending football, migration, friendship, family, spirituality and cultural heritage, Following the Red Thread: The Beautiful Game is an uplifting coming-of-age novel for readers who loved Bend It Like Beckham, Life of Pi and stories that explore identity, purpose and finding home.

A story for anyone who has ever felt caught between worlds.

And wondered if that might actually be their greatest strength.

02 / 05 Praise

What readers are saying.

A football story about identity, belonging and finding home.

For readers of Bend It Like Beckham and contemporary coming-of-age fiction.

A journey between UNESCO cities to a sacred Himalayan lake, connected by a single red thread.

“I have started reading your novel, it is superb. My ‘no matter how far the kite flies, you will still be holding the string’ moment.”
David Donnachie

“Not your typical sports book. It had me smiling one moment, feeling guilty the next, and then fighting back tears I didn't know I had.”
Reader review, Apple Books ★★★★★

“A good read across all generations. Sat down to read this with my grandson. Made us look back at our own red thread in our family.”
Reader review, Apple Books ★★★★★

03 / 05 The detail

For booksellers and librarians.

AuthorKamaljot Singh Panesar

PublisherTangram Press

Publication2026

FormatPrint and ebook

ReadingsPrologue read by Priyanshu Painyuli. Chapter and epilogue readings by Kamaljot Singh Panesar.

ISBN (print)9781066726608

ISBN (ebook)9781066726615

Trade orderstrade@tangram-press.com

04 / 05 ● The reading

Hear Where the Story Begins

On Father's Day 2026, actor Priyanshu Painyuli read the prologue of Following the Red Thread: The Beautiful Game.

Set in Chengdu in 2038, it opens Dhuruv Singh's journey and the question at the heart of the novel:

How much of yourself have you erased, just to belong?

Watch the full 10-minute reading on Instagram ↗

05 / 05 The author

About the author.

K.S. Panesar

Photo: Li Ding

K.S. Panesar is a British-Sikh author, architectural designer and cultural strategist. His life runs between Punjabi family roots in Bradford and twenty transformative years in Chengdu, China, a British-Chinese-Sikh crossing that gives him a rare lens on identity, belonging and cultural connection.

He served as China Ambassador for The Big Draw Festival and led the design of the Sichuan National Park Giant Panda Conservation Centre in Hetaoping (Wolong). A father to a young footballer, he writes from lived experience of multicultural youth in sport.

Following the Red Thread: The Beautiful Game is his first novel. He lives in England with his family.

redthreaduniverse.com | Instagram: @kamaljot.singh.panesar

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Following the Red Thread:The Beautiful Game

Get your copy

What it is about.

What readers are saying.

For booksellers and librarians.

Hear Where the Story Begins

About the author.