Celebrity authors
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A number of celebrities have written books. Among these celebrity authors are:
- John Lithgow (see below)
- Mario Cuomo (see below)
- Ed Koch (The Senator Must Die)
- Jamie Lee Curtis (see below)
- Paul Petersen (see below)
- Richard Nimoy (see below)
- William Shatner (see below)
- Lynne Cheney (A Is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women, America: A Patriotic Primer, When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots, A Time for Freedom: What Happened When in America, Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America, Telling The Truth, Body Politic, Academic Freedom, American Memory: A Report on the Humanities in the Nation's Public Schools)
- Julie Andrews (The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, Mandy)
- Jerry Seinfeld (Halloween, SeinLanguage)
- Tiki and Ronde Barber (By My Brother's Side)
- James Carville
- Katie Couric
- Mia Hamm (Winners Never Quit, Go for the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life)
- Bill Cosby (see below)
- Jay Leno (see below)
- Billy Crystal (see below)
- Deborah Norville (Back on Track: How to Straighten Out Your Life When It Throws You a Curve, Vol. 1, Back on Track: How to Straighten Out Your Life When It Throws You a Curve, Vol. 2, I Don't Want to Sleep Tonight)
- Maria Shriver (see below)
- Dr. Laura Schlessinger (see below)
- Sarah Ferguson (Budgie)
- Spike Lee (Please, Baby, Please, Please, Puppy, Please')'
- Jane Seymour (And Then There Were Three, Boing!: No Bouncing on the Bed, Fried Pies and Roast Cake, The Other Side, Play)
- John Travolta (Propeller: One-way Night Coach)
- Madonna (see below)
- Shirley Temple
- Elizabeth Taylor (Nibbles and Me)
- Will Smith (Just the Two of Us)
- LeAnn Rimes (Jag)
- Bette Midler (The Saga of Baby Divine)
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[edit] Children's books
Many books by celebrity authors are children's picture books. Books by celebrity authors include the following.
- John Lithgow
John Lithgow is the author of The Remarkable Farkle McBride (2003), a story told in rhyme of a musical genius who’s never happy. Although a musical instrument intersts the prodigy for a period of time, Farkle soon becomes bored with it. In the end, Farkle is happy when he discovers that what he hs been seeking all along is the harmonious sound of the instruments playing together [1]. Lithgow is also the author of Marsupial Sue (2001), the story of a kangaroo who would rather be a koala, a platypus, or anything else--until she learns that it's best to be herself; Micawber (2002); I'm a Manatee (2003); Carnival of the Animals (2004); Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake" (2005); and several other children's books.
- Mario Cuomo
The Blue Spruce (1992) by former New York governor Mario Cuomo recounts the story of a boy’s father who leaves the city for a home in the suburbs and a tree--the blue spruce of the title--in the front yard. A storm uproots the tree, but the boy and his father manage to save it [2]. Cuomo is also a contributing author to several non-fiction anthologies.
- Jamie Lee Curtis
Where Do Balloons Go? (2000), by Jamie Lee Curtis, tells (in rhyming couplets) what happens to a balloon once it floats free. The story, she says, is a metaphor for the loss of a loved one to death [3]. Curtis is also the author of When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth (1995), It's Hard To Be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel (2004), I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-esteem (2002), Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods That Make My Day (1998), and Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born (1996).
- Madonna
The English Roses (2003) tells of friendship and rivalry among 11-year-old English schoolgirls Nicole, Amy, Charlotte, and Grace whose sleepovers, picnics, and ice-skating parties exclude Binah, whom they envy. Madonna is also the author of Mr. Peabody's Apples (2003) and Yakov and the Seven Thieves (2004).
- Jay Leno
In Jay Leno's If Roast Beef Could Fly (2004), nine-year-old Jay's caught between his thrifty mom and his extravagant dad. Leno is also the author of How to Be the Funniest Kid in the Whole Wide World (or Just in Your Class) (2005).
- Billy Crystal
In I Already Know I Love You, (2004) Billy Crystal offers a sentimental account of a man's becoming a grandfather for the first time. Crystal also wrote Grandpa's Little One (2006) and 700 Sundays (2005).
- Bill Cosby
The author of many humorous volumes, Bill Cosby's latest book, Friends of a Feather (2003). tells the story of Slipper, Feathers, and Hog, who meet on a beach where they perform dangerous aerial feats for one another and their hundreds of admirers. Finally, one "learns to soar out from under the shadow of his best friend's wing" [4].
- Maria Shriver
Arnold Schwartzeneggar's wife Maria Shriver wrote What's Happening to Grandpa? (2004), which deals with a family who must cope with Alzheimer's disease. Shriver is also the author of What's Heaven? (1999) and What's Wrong with Timmy? (2001).
[edit] Books for adult readers
Celebrity authors' publications also include novels for adult readers and biographies and other sophisticated non-fiction volumes.
- Paul Petersen
After starring on The Donna Reed Show, Paul Petersen wrote 16 action-adventure novels. His first novel concerned car racing. Thereafter, he created a Matt Helm-type hero, Eric Saveman, also known as "The Smuggler." In one year, Pocket Books published eight of his Smuggler novels, earning Petersen $75,000.
- Leonard Nimoy
Nimoy has written several volumes of poetry, some published along with a number of his photographs. His latest effort is entitled A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life (2002). His poetry can be found in the Contemporary Poets index of The HyperTexts.
- William Shatner
William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk on the television science fiction series Star Trek, has written a series of 22 science fiction novels, including Tek War (1989), Teklords (1991), Teklab (1991), Tek Vengeance (1992), Tek Secret (1993), Tek Power (1994), Tek Money (1995), Tek Kill (1996), and Tek Net (1997).
Shatner also has "written two books chronicling his experiences playing Captain Kirk and being a part of the Star Trek franchise" [5].
- Dr. Laura Schlessinger
Dr. Laura Schlessinger earned a Ph.D. in physiology from Columbia University, and she has postdoctoral certification and licensing in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is the author of six New York Times bestsellers, which have sold almost 4,000,000 copies. She has also written four children's books. One of her "most provocative" books is The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands, in which she argues that, by taking care of their husbnands, wives also "ensure themselves the happiness and satisfaction they yearn for in marriage" [6].
[edit] Controversy
Critics raise questions about the quality of books by celebrity authors, contending, in some cases, that their publication has more to do with their celebrity than with their talent as writers. Moreover, according to such critics, the publication of books by celebrity authors prevents other, more deserving writers from being published, since there is only so much money and space on shelves available to publishers and retail sales outlets. Trev Jones, School Library Journal's book review editor, contends that "most of these books are pretty bad," and admits that "there is seemingly no connection between whether they can write and whether they will get published" [7]. Likewise, Jane Yolen, a prize-winning children's book author, contends that "celebrity children's books eat up all the available oxygen ... I have over 250 books out, have won a great number of awards within the field, have been given four honorary doctorates for my body of work, but have never been on 'Oprah' or spoken to Katie Couric or gotten a $100,000 advance for my work" [8].
Another controversial point concerns whether parents buy these books for themselves or their children. According to Anita Silvey, the author of The 100 Best Books for Children, "Celebrity-written children's books are the worst kind of disconnect between a parent--who is attached to a book written by a celebrity they like--and a child, for whom that celebrity is totally meaningless" [9].
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