The clash of the two IWE titans is once again inevitable with Vikram Seth's advance-buster Two Lives arriving close on the heels of Shalimar—only a week later. The fiercely private Seth says in a recent interview that he had already written two-thirds of the book when he sold it to Time Warner UK at a £1.4 million advance. "When I met potential publishers," he told a reporter outside his publisher's office in London last month, "I placed the text on the table and said, 'This is what I have written, but I'm afraid you can't read any of it'." Apparently, he doesn't believe in proof copies either, judging by the singular absence of net auctions of advance copies of Two Lives. But both the literary giants are bracing for the marathon round of book promoting that they will have to do, already attending literary festivals andchain-store conferences.
With Sudoku fever spreading, how long before a publisher cashed in? Rupa has just grabbed the rights for a sudoku guide from abroad. Judging by the price (Rs 95) and contents (a step-by-step guide with tips and practice grids apart from a backgrounder on the puzzle all the world is cracking its wits about), this is going to top the bestseller lists for a while.
