Pulp friction Writers rue the rise of celebs' books for children

“A modern classic by Keira Knightley,” reads the provisional cover of the actor's debut children's book I Love You Just the Same. Set to be published next October, the 80-page volume, written and illustrated by Knightley, is about a girl navigating the dynamics that come with the arrival of a sibling.

- Ella Creamer, Lucy Knight

The Pirates of the Caribbean star is the latest in a long list of celebrities to have turned to writing children's books. McFly's Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter have been hovering at the top of the bestseller chart since the publication of their latest book The Dinosaur That Pooped Halloween! Earlier in the year, David Walliams dominated with his newest book Astrochimp. The entertainer has sold 25m copies of his children's titles in the UK alone, according to Nielsen BookData.

The celeb-to-author pipeline is nothing new: Julie Andrews' children's novel Mandy was published in 1974, while Madonna's picture book The English Roses came out in 2003. What has changed in recent years is that the non-celeb side of the playing field has been hollowed out, with author incomes in decline.

“These celebrities do not need any more money or exposure, but plenty of genuine writers do,” says the author and poet Joshua Seigal. When news of Knightley's book broke, authors expressed frustrations online: in one tweet, the writer Charlotte Levin joked about trying to become a film star.