Christmas sees hot competition between new titles for space in bookshops and on bestseller lists, which is greatly welcomed by the author community each year.

The Society of Authors (SoA) recognises that encouraging children to read in the digital age can be a challenge and that celebrities’ names can help kickstart a reading habit with the potential to benefit the reader for life. 

However, many celebrity books, particularly those for children, involve professional ghostwriters and other co-creators. We are encouraging our industry partners to recognise and acknowledge the contributions which are made by all the creators involved, from the celebrities whose names encourage readers to pick up a book to the ghostwriters and, often, illustrators whose skills help to bring stories to life. By celebrating everyone involved in the craft, we believe that readers will read more widely for the good of all authors and publishers alike.

Abie Longstaff, Chair of the SoA’s Children’s Writers and illustrators Group, said:

A book is not just a package with kerb-appeal. Creativity and well-honed craft make it special. The real hand that spins the magic should be acknowledged and applauded, particularly in an era when humans risk being drowned out by the generic and derivative outputs of artificial intelligence bots.

Chair of the SoA, Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin (who writes as Sam Blake), said:

I applaud the growing trend of celebrities publicly and generously acknowledging their co-creators. They often talk about the pleasure of the collaborative relationship they have, the teamwork. At the Irish Book Awards, rugby player Johnny Sexton was awarded Sports Book of the Year and brought his ghost writer Peter O’Reilly onto the stage to thank the Irish Literary Academy and the public for their votes. It was a wonderful moment when both story and words were celebrated, and, just as Chris Hoy has often appeared with his ghostwriter, Joanna Nadin, at events, this helps to set the gold standard for both the industry and the public. In a world where fake news proliferates, complete transparency is to be celebrated.

Mark McCrum (co-author of Somebody Someday by Robbie Williams), said:

It’s high time that ghostwriters got recognition for their hard and highly skilled work. A ‘with’ or a byline on the inside title page is enough, and ideally joint mention with the named celebrity in any bestseller lists. Publishers should understand that this, and a decent split of advance and royalties, is an incentive to work as well as we can, as well as giving the reading public an honest account of how these books come about.

The SoA is keen to support, nurture and celebrate the unique value which stems from human creativity, and is asking publishers, celebrities, booksellers, festival organisers, agents and all involved in the industry to recognise and reward all collaborators on celebrity books.

As we plan our work for 2025, we are asking members with experiences of ghostwriting to complete this short survey. The survey will close on 20 January 2025.