For weeks HarperCollins has promised a “shattering, provocative and mesmerising true story” on September 12. This week we discovered that it is another book by Paul Burrell. He reveals that Diana, Princess of Wales, received a Bulgari ring from Dodi Fayed, but did not consider it meaningful. Even the Daily Mail quoted a source close to the inquiry into Diana’s death as saying: “This is not new.”
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A bit of a to-do at the World Science Fiction Convention when Harlan Ellison allowed his hand to stray to the breast of the host, Connie Willis. Ellison said that his action came after “playing straight man to Connie’s very frequently demeaning public jackanapery towards me for 25 years”. Surely that entitles him to a quick grope?
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Penguin is to offer Gordon Dahlquist’s The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, a gothic adventure, in instalments. Subscribers via its website will receive the novel in ten weekly parts from next month before publication in January. But will readers spend £25 — £8 more than the book — for a novel by someone of whom they haven’t heard?
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There’s a long way to the final whistle, but so far England’s footballing autobiographers are staring at mid-table respectability at best. Steven Gerrard has recorded the biggest weekly sale so far, while Frank Lampard has caused an upset by outselling Wayne Rooney.
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Monty Python showed Thomas Hardy writing The Return of the Native in a full stadium. Now the Quickmuse website is replaying the idea online, with a competitive element. David Leavitt and Rick Moody teed off on Tuesday, writing pieces based on a personal ad. You watch both take shape while a clock ticks.