Saturday, July 5, 2014

Celebrity Authors

It's not unusual to see autobiographies and memoir written by celebrities. What is more unusual is that more and more celebrities have started to write fiction. From picture books to chapter books and young adult fiction to adult fiction, celebrities are taking advantage of the opportunity to write and publish books. How people feel about celebrity authors varies; some people are not happy with actors, actresses, and musicians writing fiction books, while others are just fine with it. Ty Roth, author of the young adult novel So Shelly, even weighed in on the topic.

There's also always the possibility that ghostwriters are responsible for actually writing these books, and that the celebrities just come up with the idea, or just have their names published on the books. The level of a celebrity's involvement may vary, but according to the New York Times, it's highly unlikely that celebrities are completely responsible for writing their books.

Regardless of who actually writes the book and of how readers and writers feel about celebrity authors, it is unlikely that celebrities will stop publishing fiction. Curious about who some of the celebrity authors are? Here's a list of just some of the ones that are in the library catalog, broken down by category.*

Picture Books

The Blue Ribbon Day and The Brand New Kid,by Katie Couric

Big Words for Little People, My Mommy Hung the Moon: A Love Story, Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, and Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery, by Jamie Lee Curtis

Man Gave Names to All the Animals, by Bob Dylan

Dumpy's Extra-Busy Day and Dumpy's Valentine, by Julie Andrews Edwards

It's About a Little Bird,by Jessica Lange

Queen of the Scene,by Queen Latifah

I'm a Manatee and Marsupial Sue, by John Lithgow

The Adventures of Abdi, Mr. Peabody's Apples, and Yakov and the Seven Thieves, by Madonna

The Alphabet From A to Y With Bonus Letter, Z! and Late For School, by Steve Martin

Freckleface Strawberry and Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, by Julianne Moore

Little T Learns to Share, by Terrell Owens

Halloween, by Jerry Seinfeld

Presenting Tallulah, by Tori Spelling

Dream Big, Little Pig!, by Kristi Yamaguchi

My New Teacher and Me! and When I Grow Up, by Al Yankovic

Chapter Books

Dragon: Hound of Honor, The Great American Mousical, Little Bo in London, and Mandy, by Julie Andrews Edwards

The English Roses and The English Roses: Too Good to be True, by Madonna

Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales, by Shaquille O'Neal

Hothead and Squeeze Play, by Cal Ripkin, Jr.

Young Adult Fiction

Modelland, by Tyra Banks

The Fame Game, L.A. Candy, Starstruck, Sugar and Spice, and Sweet Little Lies, by Lauren Conrad

Devoted and Elixir, by Hilary Duff

What do you think about celebrities-turned-authors? Have you read any of the books on this list? Would you? Or do you agree with those who think celebrities should stay away from writing books?

*Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. Some of the authors mentioned have more books in the library's catalog than what is listed. This list also does not focus on adult fiction.

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