(image via frillr)
The fact "The Hills" airhead Lauren Conrad -- you know the one who looks like a young goddam Carmen Electra -- is writing books and not in fact studying books is, perhaps, indicative of the West's tragic, Spenglerian decline. It is also, alas, a fucking truism. Lauren Conrad, mirabile dictu, has a three book -- ! -- deal with HarperCollins. To put things in perspective: The Corsair has a no book deal at HarperCollins. Argh. You do the math. From a press release:
"HarperCollins Publishers announced today that it has acquired world rights to a young adult fiction series from Lauren Conrad, star of MTV's mega-hit reality show The Hills. The series, entitled L.A. Candy, is loosely inspired by Conrad's own transformation from ordinary teen to reality TV darling, fashion designer, and 'It Girl.'
"... L.A. Candy tells the behind-the scenes story of a young girl who moves to L.A. and unexpectedly becomes the star of a reality television show. With her stardom comes wealth, famous friends, fabulous clothes, and romance -- as well as the darker realization that everyone wants something from her, and nothing is what it appears to be. Though L.A. Candy is a work of fiction, the characters -- their lives, their loves, and their never-ending dramas -- are perfectly drawn by Conrad, the only person who can give her readers an accurate and juicy insider look at young Hollywood.
"'I've never seen a new project generate noise like the instant buzz that swept through our offices around this deal,' said Elise Howard, Senior VP/Associate Publisher of Fiction, HarperCollins Children's Books. 'The Hills and Lauren Conrad are household names among our staff, and their popularity is even higher among the teens who are our readers. We're bracing ourselves for a blockbuster publication.'
"'I've always loved books that I could lose myself in, ones that would transport me to another place, but had characters I could relate to,' said Conrad. 'I'm so excited to have this opportunity to write books like that for other readers.'"
Then again, no one reads political books -- or books about serious things or anything for that matter.
3 comments:
But of course. This is why I honestly hope that Publishing as an industry goes the way of those dinosaurs they call the Recording Industry. I see publishing moving to the independent level, much as the music biz. I look forward to great works self-published and/or downloadable in pdf formats off writers' sites/blogs. Let the Judith Regans rot away.
Total agreement on that.
Hear, hear! I agree completely as well, and that's why I ditched my publisher and started my own, small, independent press for my latest book. As an author, it just infuriates me that these mega-publishers will pay massive amounts of money as an advance to these "stars" because they know they can push the book on the masses no matter how dumbed-down it is, while the authors of better books get tiny advances and make so little in royalties they can barely afford to pay their electric bills.
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