Jeremy Vine’s latest book deal has caused controversy as critics claim celebrity signings leave little room for others in the competitive industry.
The London-based BBC presenter, 59, announced two upcoming novels with prestigious publisher HarperCollins, with the first, Murder on Line One, set to be released in April 2025.
Aspiring authors have criticized the decision, claiming Vine’s status as a Channel 5 breakfast show host, BBC Radio 2 DJ and former Strictly Come Dancing star is the real reason behind the book deal.
Celebrity book deals divide the industry because some publishers say it means there is less money for new authors; Others believe that, in the long term, it generates more significant returns at a faster rate that can be invested in others.
However, backlash has grown online, with critics claiming that Vine simply got the deal because of his celebrity status. One of them said: “Readers should boycott books about celebrities,” adding that they refuse to buy them on “principle.”
Jeremy Vine (pictured) has announced plans to release two murder mystery novels under HarperCollins, leading other non-celebrity authors to criticize the rise of celebrity novelists.
Revealing the partnership, HarperCollins said: “Jeremy Vine’s initial obsession was with Agatha Christie, after his mother gave him Hercule Poirot for Christmas when he was eleven.”
He explained that by age 18, Vine had devoured all 66 of Christie’s novels and now, some 40 years later, he wants to leave his mark on the genre.
But despite her apparent interest in the murder mystery genre, her contract with HarperFiction doesn’t seem well-deserved to other aspiring authors.
Seeing the news, aspiring crime writers took to X to criticize the Vine deal, as well as the broader trend of famous authors winning big contracts with publishers.
One of them said: “Like many novelists now, I must go to my grave knowing that Richard, Judy, Fern Britton and Carol, who long ago, have outsold me.”
A second added: ‘Depressing isn’t it? I think the worst is in children’s fiction.
A third wrote: ‘I don’t buy celebrity novels. Even if they are nice and the book is brilliant. That’s my policy.
Richard Osman (pictured) defied expectations with the release of his murder mystery novels ‘A Thursday Murder Club Mystery’.
Osman’s latest murder mystery, The Last Devil to Die (pictured), hits shelves in September 2023
Another said: “Readers should boycott celebrity books.” I never buy them without capital (sic). Publishers would soon abandon these celebrities if readers refused to buy them. Does JV not have enough money?
“Boycotting at this stage – constant overpromotion of celebrities over other authors – whether written by themselves or not – is massively skewing the market,” said another.
One frustrated author said: ‘What’s the point of trying anymore?!’
Speaking to HarperCollins, Jeremy Vine said: “I am delighted to be joining HarperCollins to tell my stories of murder and intrigue deep in Devon.
“I just hope that my hero, Edward Temmis, constantly under threat of being fired from his radio station, would have met my other hero, Agatha Christie. She has inspired me since I first read her at age eleven; No I know why I waited 47 years to immerse myself in the world she created in my mind.’
The upcoming murder mystery series follows a recently fired radio host, Edward Temmis, as he explores the suspicious death of one of his listeners’ grandmothers.
Users of X, formerly Twitter, claim to be ‘boycotting’ novels written by celebrities and call the phenomenon ‘depressing’
But after exploring a death, it comes to light that many of his listeners have suffered violent attacks, encouraging Edward to dig deeper to discover who is behind the crimes.
MailOnline has contacted HarperFiction for comment.
Jeremy’s murder mystery novels are not his first books, and the presenter has previously written several other novels, Forget Heaven Just Kiss Me and The Diver and The Lover.
Elsewhere, Richard Osman, formerly host of teatime quiz show Pointless, has further fueled the debate after defying expectations and becoming a successful novelist.
His Thursday Murder Club books, the first of which came out in 2020, became a bestselling juggernaut, and his fourth novel, The Last Devil to Die, came out last September.
At the time, sources indicated that this four-book deal comes with an advance of “more than £10 million,” which may make some in the publishing industry gasp.
Elsewhere, figures such as Strictly’s Richard Cole and journalist Robert Peston have joined the club of celebrities-turned-crime writers.
Celebrities taking up writing has long been a divisive topic. On the one hand, the success of a famous novelist can only increase the prosperity of the publisher and therefore of aspiring authors, but on the other, it can be seen as reducing opportunities for others.
Curtis Brown’s literary agent, Jonny Geller, previously revealed to the guardian that the industry is constantly looking for potential authors with a platform.
‘There’s no doubt,’ Geller told The Guardian, ‘that publishers are looking for people with platforms; “They are bringing a ready-made audience.” His agency “has a great talent and presenting department, (and) we get emails every week saying, ‘Would so-and-so write a novel?’
