PUBLISHED - Mail On Line - 22 March 2013
Pippa Middleton has parted company with her literary agent
Pippa Middleton has parted company with her literary agent

After her foray  into publishing with Celebrate — her less than riveting guide to entertaining, which failed to feature in any bestseller lists — I can reveal that Pippa Middleton has parted company with her agent.
Literary guru David Godwin masterminded the deal with Penguin that saw the Duchess of Cambridge’s younger sister pocket an estimated £400,000 advance from publisher Michael Joseph.
But the book of party planning tips will be their only collaboration.
‘Theirs was a tricky relationship,’ says a literary figure.
‘David was not an obvious choice for Pippa. His writers are heavyweights while Pippa’s niche is fluffy and commercial. In the end it was clear the union was not a happy one.’
At the time it was thought that Pippa’s contributions to the Party Times newsletter, part of her family’s Party Pieces mail order firm, plus her experience as a party planner for London company Table Talk, were sufficient credentials.

 Under Godwin’s expert guidance, she set out to style herself as the go-to party planning expert. But she failed to impress observers astounded that someone without real writing experience had managed to secure such a substantial offer.
Insiders were more baffled as to why she was being represented by an agent whose stable includes highbrow writers such as biographer Claire Tomalin, novelist Vikram Seth and historian William Dalrymple. In the end, despite Godwin’s expertise, Pippa’s guide was a flop.
Poor sales followed and Penguin quickly denied suggestions that their involvement with Pippa was anything more than a one- book deal.

And the unlikely partnership, which at first had proved so financially fruitful, is over.
Speaking from his Covent Garden office, David Godwin tells me carefully: ‘I am very sorry it has happened, but yes, it is true: I no longer represent Pippa and I wish her every good luck.’ 
So what of Pippa’s literary future? A month ago, Waitrose signed her up to write a column. But apart from joking herself that she should write a sequel entitled Bottoms Up — a reference to the attention her shapely behind attracts — whispers of a second tome about weddings appear to have been shelved.