The Society of Authors (SoA) is calling on celebrities and the publishing industry to properly acknowledge the writers behind celebrity books, particularly those aimed at children.
In a statement published on Monday, the SoA – the largest trade union of writers, illustrators and translators in the UK – said that many celebrity titles, especially those for children, involve ghostwriters and other “co-creators”.
The union encouraged the publishing industry 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.”
“Credit where credit’s due should be the publishing mantra,” said Chris Bradford, author of the Young Samurai series. “Acknowledgement of the ghostwriter doesn’t take away from the celebrity’s kudos”, noting that Marcus Rashford’s books credit the footballer’s co-writer Carl Anka on the covers.
“There also needs to be fair recompense for the ghostwriter’s work,” Bradford added. “The celebrity’s name on the cover might sell the book initially, but it’s the content crafted by the ghostwriter that makes it a bestseller.”
Mark McCrum, who co-authored Somebody Someday by Robbie Williams, said it is “high time that ghostwriters got recognition for their hard and highly skilled work”. He said that “a ‘with’ or a byline” on the inside title page “is enough”, and “ideally joint mention with the named celebrity in any bestseller lists”.
The SoA statement also acknowledged that encouraging children to read in the digital age can be “a challenge” and that celebrity books can help in starting a reading habit.
The organisation’s chair Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin welcomed the “growing trend” of celebrities publicly acknowledging ghostwriters, pointing to Chris Hoy often appearing with his ghostwriter Joanna Nadin at events, and rugby player Johnny Sexton bringing his ghostwriter Peter O’Reilly on stage at the Irish book awards when their book won sports book of the year.
Nadin said that working with Hoy was an “enriching, positive” experience, and that she was credited throughout the process. “We had hoped it would become a model for the wider industry, so it’s disappointing that only a few teams have followed suit.”
Responding to news of the SoA’s call for transparency in a post on social media platform Bluesky, journalist and Empireland author Sathnam Sanghera suggested that TV and radio shows interviewing celebrities about their ghostwritten books should “acknowledge that they are ghostwritten, rather than proffering fake news”.
The SoA’s call comes following writers expressing frustration in recent months about celebrities writing books at a time when author incomes are in decline. Last year, Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown was criticised over her novel, Nineteen Steps, which was ghostwritten by Kathleen McGurl. While Brown publicly acknowledged McGurl’s work in an Instagram post, critics said that McGurl’s name “should be on the cover”.
