Shun celebrity authors like Meghan, publishers urged

LEADING children’s authors have hit out at publishers trying to “swamp the competition” by continuously commissioning new books by celebrities such as the Duchess of Sussex.

Sales figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show authors like Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton still sell millions more copies than any modern-day celebrity, with the exception of David Walliams.

The duchess is among a number of famous faces who in recent times have written a children’s book, alongside the likes of Madonna, Frank Lampard, Idris Elba and the Duchess of York.

Earlier this month it was announced her first title, The Bench, would be published by Penguin Random House, and the June release is inspired by the “special bond” between her husband Prince Harry and their son Archie.

But children’s writers have pointed out that many end up being “absolute disasters” and that better authors are being repeatedly ignored.

Gareth P Jones, who won the Blue Peter Book Award in 2012 for The Considine Curse, believes the e financial success of literature re produced by dedicated writers should uld prompt publishers to prioritise quality uality over celebrity.

He said: “Meghan isn’t unique in wanting to write a story inspired by her children n or pets or, in her case, a bench. Lots of parents do this.

“The ones es who are not famous but good writers sometimes get books out of it. The ones who are famous but ut not good writers always get books out of it. I think the list should be seen as a useful u reminder to publishers th that the fame of authors should not be the main steering factor wh when it comes to signing new book books. “Children’s literature ma matters. It matters to the industry, to the young readers and to the fut future of our society. Most cele celebrity authors get such whop whopping advances for their efforts th that I’m not sure book sales or long longevity are important factors for the them.” A list of the top children’s au authors since 2010 compiled by Ni Nielsen BookScan analysts shows only onl one celebrity writer – Walliams – in a top20 list otherwise dominated by writers like Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson and JK Rowling. Separate sales figures focusi focusing on 2019 alone featured just three celebrity authors in the top 20: Walliams, Tom Fletcher and David Baddiel.

Walliams has written 26 books for children netting more than £100m, of which he is estimated to have taken home £10m. This puts him alongside some of the UK’s highest earning authors, such as JK Rowling and Jacqueline Wilson.

Lucrative advances for celebrity book deals – many of which are believed to be in the millions – compare with some as low as £2,000 for lesser-known children’s authors.

“It’s so true that writing good children’s books is not an easy wheeze,” said the author of children’s thriller Waiting for Murder, Fleur Hitchcock. “There have been some absolute disasters over the years – remember Madonna’s?

“Some sell on the name and fizzle out, but some are so aggressively marketed that they swamp the competition.”