“Super Thursday” is the day each October when publishers bring out new books they hope will be bought by the public in their thousands in the weeks running up to Christmas.
Supermarkets often stack the books high, selling them for less than the cover price, making them perfect Christmas presents that give people a lot of pleasure.
This year, apart from novels by the likes of Stephen King and Richard Osman and Sir Lenny Henry, there are the usual smattering of celebrity autobiographies, including another from Peter Kay.
To help promote their work, celebrities often visit bookshops, signing copies for their readers.
But these signings don’t always go to plan…
There’s an apparently true story about a celebrity book signing in Australia that, depending on which version you’re told, featured Kenneth Williams or Ian Rankin or Monica Dickens (the great-great granddaughter of Charles!).
Whoever it was, it made me smile.
Kenny/Ian/Monica travelled Down Under to promote their latest book, hoping to sell loads of copies, which the celeb would cheerfully sign, often with a personal message.
Their ‘signing’ pen at the ready, they’d sit behind a table piled high with copies of their new book, accompanied by the publisher’s local representative, who’d be tasked with taking cash from purchasers of the book, so the author wouldn’t have to.
In this instance, the author – in a good mood, having already sold and signed several dozen copies at a Melbourne bookstore – was approached by a local lady who picked up a copy of the book, gave it and the author a half-interested glance and said in a broad Australian accent “Emma Chizitt!”
Without waiting for the publisher’s representative to take the customers money, the smiling author took the book from the lady, signed it “With my best wishes to Emma Chizitt” and handed it back.
As the publisher’s rep. politely whispered to the lady, “That’ll be 15 dollars, madam,” she gave the author a puzzled look, opened the book to see what the author had just written, quickly closed it, handed it back and said…
“I only asked… how much is it?”
Say that in an Australian accent!