On books
book talk with Katie Allen
The Bookseller

A drip-feed of news stories all week can only serve to ramp up anticipation for Tony Blair's forthcoming memoir A Journey (Hutchinson). First The Bookseller revealed that the ex-PM is to carry out a signing at Waterstone's Piccadilly. Then the Stop the War Coalition called for a boycott of the big W and promised to protest outside. Next there was the announcement that the proceeds of the title, including his reported £4.6m advance, will go to the Battle Back Challenge Centre which rehabilitates seriously injured soldiers. The gesture, according to his spokesperson a long-standing one, was met with both cynical and grateful responses in the press.

Authors also weighed into the debate, with a letter sent to the Guardian suggesting that "Waterstone's will seriously harm its own reputation as a respectable bookseller by helping him promote his book" while anti-censorship campaigners have come out on the side of the retailer.

The latest is that Blair is to appear on BBC2 on publication date to be interviewed by Andrew Marr, in what is said to be his first major political interview since stepping down as PM.

The huge sales potential is already in evidence: the title is second in Amazon's Hot Future Releases chart—indeed a quick straw poll in The Bookseller office suggests that even water-cooler politicos are interested in buying the book ("as long as it's half price", chips in one), a good sign in an office full of free proofs.

And in other news (and yes there is some), light at the end of the tunnel perhaps is indicated not only by the sudden flurry of book events coming up (at last!) but through the tills—book sales last week were higher than last year for the fourth consecutive week, according to Nielsen BookScan. It's the first time the market has experienced continuous growth over a four-week period for almost 15 months.

Katie Allen is The Bookseller's media editor