Literary heavyweights such as Martin Amis have been throwing the toys out of their prams and joining forces in protest against the inexorable rise of celebrity novels. Amis lashed out at the cult of celebrity publishing at the Hay Festival in London last month, saying of model Jordan/Katie Price that ‘all we are really worshipping is two bags of silicone’. Deborah Moggach, whose works include Tulip Fever, has said it is ‘deeply dispiriting’ that a celebrity novel could sell 100,000 copies, while a literary novel may shift only 1000. The fact that celebrity novels outsell literary novels by an average of 100 to 1 proves that the celebrity market is accelerating at an amazing pace, from novels to autobiographies, and from children’s books to celebrity chef cookbooks and other TV and film tie-ins. Martine McCutcheon, former Eastenders actress and star of the film Love Actually, recently launched her debut novel The Mistress, which has had muted reviews but will no doubt still sell well. At least she is reputed to have written it herself- a rarity in the celebrity novel department. Biographies (authorised and unauthorised) and autobiographies are another huge market. While a lot of Z-list celebrity life tales end up in discount bookstores, there are many others that are phenomenally successful. Katie Price may be just ‘two bags of silicone’ and may not even write her own novels, but she has the last laugh- she is one of the most powerful people in publishing, having created her own mini publishing empire worth millions of pounds, with a succession of novels, children’s pony books and continually updated autobiographies (and she’s still only 31). Titles by or featuring celebrities reap by far the biggest financial rewards for the publishing industry. For Amis and other authors, Price’s fame and fortune seem inexplicable, but the ten million people currently watching her grapple with grubs on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here will disagree. On the other side of the scale, authors such as Amis and Moggach enjoy steady but comparatively unspectacular sales (and are unlikely to appear on I'm a Celebrity any time soon). Some publishers themselves have bemoaned the lack of quality in celebrity titles, fearing they will put off people coming to novels for the first time. The more 'serious' literature titles get a boost in publicity through the many literary prizes, such as the Booker Prize. However, while the Booker Prize is one of literature’s most prestigious and respected prizes, it also has the unfortunate reputation of having some of the least read books among its winners and shortlisted titles- and Katie Price comfortably outsells the entire shortlist. This means that, while there may be fears in the publishing industry about the 'dumbing down' of literature, the industry is ultimately about money-making after all, and publishers and booksellers will go on how many copies of a title they can sell, not how good that title is. So it is mostly about quantity not quality, not the other way round. This is something that is even more prevalent in the current recession, which has hit the book trade badly, necessitating adaptations in order to survive. However, the element of crossover between the celebrity and literary categories should still mean a sustained market for both. We are a nation of eclectic tastes and the publishing industry should remain receptive to this; many readers straddle both markets and many authors could be in either category- such as the hugely successful John Grisham and Dan Brown, who did not start out as celebrities themselves, but have nevertheless found fame and literary success through their gripping page-turners. Although they have their literary dissidents, their broad appeal has ensured they have ridden high on international book charts for many years, have sold millions of copies worldwide, have had numerous film adaptations of their books, and are currently two and three in the UK book charts (after the Guinness Book of Records, a perennial Christmas favourite). Another sign that fears of the death of the literary blockbuster are somewhat premature is that some of the original literary heavyweights such as Charles Dickens and Jane Austen remain popular even in today’s celebrity-obsessed culture, and live on in TV and film adaptations, introducing a whole new generation to their books. A love of reading classic literature remains in a multimedia culture where entertainment options are far broader than they were in the times of Dickens and Austen, especially when such classics are adapted for a modern audience. Helen Fielding achieved the ultimate modern makeover success with her hugely popular chick lit novel Bridget Jones’s Diary, whose eponymous heroine is a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet (played in the equally popular films by Renee Zellweger, with a third film on the way). While today’s literary heavyweights may not be able to compete for sales in the all-conquering celebrity market, our varied tastes should still mean Martin Amis has a safe spot on the shelf alongside Katie Price, as both have their devotees. So when we go to Borders to buy our Christmas presents there should be something for fans of both celebrities and heavyweight literature. Let’s hope so anyway. Otherwise Amis and co. may run out of toys.