There is something for everyone in the Iraq war. Not least, publishers and literary agents prospecting for dramatic stories from the men at the centre of the action: the Allied soldiers. The hunt for action-packed memoirs started with the Afghan war two years ago when Andy McNab, authored by a special Air Services sergeant, became a multi-million-dollar success. Makes one wonder why no Indian publisher has yet approached a Commando for book and film rights.
Who says there’s no money in writing non-fiction? Ramachandra Guha’s A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport (Picador) has got into the running for Britain’s richest non-fiction award, the £30,000 BBC Four Samuel Johnson prize. So has William Dalrymple’s White Mughals: Love and betrayal in 18th century India. So have 16 other tomes, some of them quite esoteric. Like Dr Tatiana’s Sex Guide to All Creation, written as letters to an agony aunt. The winner will be announced on June 9.
