The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

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Lloyd leaps on Livingstone

08.05.08 Benedicte Page

Jonathan Lloyd of Curtis Brown is selling a political memoir by newly ousted Mayor of London Ken Livingstone. Livingstone rang Lloyd on Tuesday afternoon to suggest the book, which will be written in time for publication in spring 2009.

Lloyd said: “I’ve spoken to some select heads of houses in this country and they have all expressed extreme interest in seeing the proposal and talking further.” Curtis Brown had represented Livingstone for previous titles.

The book will be a political memoir concentrating on the past eight years and Livingstone’s tenure as Mayor. Lloyd said it would also look at the story of how he got to the Mayoralty and his relations with the Labour party, and he promised the book would be outspoken: “He will tell it as he finds it.” He described Livingstone as “one of the most interesting people on the political scene, and interesting to people outside London and outside politics”.

Lloyd is believed to be asking for a high six-figure sum for the book.

At Hutchinson, Caroline Gascoigne said she had not been offered a book as yet, but added: “If he’s prepared to be outspoken, I can see it having a real niche—Blair, Campbell and Prescott are all writing from one point of view, so to have the antidote would be very interesting. However, while Ken is very important to Londoners, I wonder how that plays in the rest of the country.”

Elsewhere Livingstone’s mixed reputation dampened enthusiasm. One publisher said: “I’m not personally going to chase Ken for a book. I’m not a big fan,” citing issues such as the questions surrounding Livingstone’s former policy advisor Lee Jasper as “off-putting”. Orion deputy c.e.o. Malcolm Edwards said: “I don’t think we’d be involved in bidding for that. My personal view is that the market for political memoirs is limited at the moment, with many people feeling that politicians’ stories are self-justifying.”

Livingstone had a previous contract with Gollancz, before he was first elected Mayor, for a book called The State of London. “It was a kind of manifesto before he became Mayor, but he didn’t write it before he became Mayor, so we cancelled the contract a few years ago,” said Edwards.

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