Full-time writers slam celebrity book trend

Children’s authors have hit out at the slew of celebrity book deals struck in recent months, warning that full-time fiction writers are struggling while famous people attract big advances and sizeable marketing budgets. Nearly all of the writers contacted by The Bookseller said they had some reservations about the number of famous people now contracted to write children’s books, even though most said they understood why the practice was on the increase.

Chris Priestley, whose books include the Tale of Terror series, said: “It’s a tricky time in publishing at the moment. I met a lot of writers last year who were having a hard time and in negotiations they were finding it harder to get the advances they got a couple of years ago. I understand that everyone is tightening their belts, but it seems as though if you’re a celebrity you can just express the idea you would like to do a book—like [radio DJ] Christian O’Connell did on Twitter—and you will get a deal. I still have to pitch my books.”

There are two main groups of famous people who are now sought out by children’s publishers; comedians and YouTubers. Priestley suggested publishers were drawn to comedians because of their performance skills, adding: “There’s an increasing expectation to perform at festivals and in schools, so it makes sense, but an author isn’t a performer. Those things don’t necessarily go together.”

He added: “If I were a publisher I would [sign book deals with famous people] because it’s easier to import a celebrity brand than it is to build an author brand. But it is infuriating for the rest of us.”

Two writers who are also children’s book critics, Amanda Craig and Philip Womack, said the number of celebrity deals had “definitely” increased. “As a reviewer I’m sent endless celebrity books. It’s enraging,” said Craig (pictured).

She said it was “distasteful [that] celebrities and their agents seem to think publishing a novel is a way to use their brand to make more money and, with the exception of David Walliams, they’re not very good.” Craig added that buying children books written by celebrities was akin to feeding them Turkey Twizzlers—notoriously slammed by Jamie Oliver in his school dinners campaign—adding: “They take readers away from proper, professional writing. When you buy these books you’re not spending money on real books and real authors.”

Bestselling children's author David Walliams is published by HarperCollins Children's Books

Womack agreed, claiming that the argument that the money publishers make from celebrity books is invested in other writers was “specious”. “I’m yet to be convinced,” he said. “We need to see hard figures, but I know there are hundreds and hundreds of children’s authors who get no publicity and only £1,000 a book. The money doesn’t filter down to us, it filters into huge marketing and publicity campaigns [for celebrities]. It feels like a closed celebrity circuit.”

Womack also believes the slew of celebrities on children’s bookshelves gives readers the message that being a kids’ author isn’t a career in itself: “It’s now something you do when you’ve made your name in another field, [yet] no one is saying children’s authors can go off and be astronauts.”

M G Leonard said children were at risk of believing that books were “lifestyle products” rather than “character-forming, life-affirming stories”, while Lucy Coats added: “It seems to me that [writing a children’s book] is part of a ‘tick list’ for celebrities. Done a perfume? Done a clothing range? What next? Oh, a children’s book.”

Priestley and Coats said the fact that many such titles now include a credit for their ghostwriters was a positive step (Joanna Nadin, for example, is credited as writing children’s books “with” Sir Chris Hoy), but YA writer C J Daugherty said that genuine authorship is often still unclear. “We can tell ourselves that readers must know a C-List celebrity, famous for opening make-up boxes on YouTube, isn’t capable of writing an 80,000-word novel. But the whole system seems designed to fool people into thinking they are,” she argued.

“I have seen celebrities who I am very confident did not write the novels that have their names on the cover, talking in interviews about how thrilled they are to have written their first book. I have seen them answer questions about their writing process. If we give up on the system of taking début writers and gradually turning them into reliable bestsellers, and instead throw six-figure advances at C-List celebrities, it looks like a bad exchange.” She added that the trend “feels unpleasant”.

Penguin Random House Children's publishes YouTuber Zoe Sugg a.k.a. "Zoella"

YA author Non Pratt said the media was at fault, stating: “Perhaps if the media devoted more energy to promoting and reviewing children’s literature, then customers would have something other than a famous name to go on when buying for a demographic.”

Priestley agreed, claiming that if Wayne Rooney were to write a kids’ book, the story would feature among the news pages of many national newspapers. “The publisher gets immediate and free publicity and doesn’t have to advertise [the book],” he said. “Can you imagine how much it would cost to place an advert on page three of the Guardian?”

However, Juno Dawson pointed out that celebrities don’t necessarily succeed in publishing just because they are famous. “The success of Chris Riddell, Derek Landy, Holly Smale, Patrick Ness and Frances Hardinge goes to show that children’s publishing should continue to nurture and homegrown talent. I don’t think an existing platform is a surefire guarantee of success.”

In a statement, Hachette Children’s Group’s c.e.o. Hilary Murray Hill said: “At the Hachette Children’s Group we celebrate diverse publishing which genuinely offers a book for every child, whatever their age, reading ability or interest.  We acquire books from wide-reaching sources: established and debut authors and illustrators, trusted agents, our global publishing partners, licensors and talent agents who may represent YouTubers or other celebrities. Our goal is to increase children’s literacy and we publish books from authors and illustrators of all backgrounds, to encourage children of all interests and backgrounds to read.”
 
Amanda Punter, publisher at Penguin Random House Children’s, said: “A varied and exciting list is good for publishing and brilliant new voices and different kinds of talent contribute to this. We are proud to publish a huge range of authors and talent, from long-established and much-loved authors and illustrators, to brand new voices and debut writers… We also know children are spending their time in different ways.  They are more online than ever before, so it is here that we are also discovering new author talent to add to the variety of our list, ensure our publishing stays relevant to our readership, and to make sure we reach as wide an audience as possible.”
 
She added: “In terms of the industry publishing household names, it is always exciting that talented writers and creators who might be known for their skill in reaching older audiences are keen to turn their hand to writing for children… With regards to social media talent, as this is a relatively new phenomenon, there is of course an increase in publishing of on both adult and children’s lists. It important for publishers to be in touch with their readers’ interests and passions, and there is evidence to suggest that social media personalities are able to reach areas of the market who don’t commonly buy a lot of books.”