Jim Talbot, a writer with a dozen unpublished novels under his belt, has been roundly rejected by virtually every agent and publisher in the land, and is willing to go to extreme lengths to make his dream of literary stardom come true. Charles Randall, the eccentric founder and managing director of Tetragon Press, a small independent publisher that has managed to survive for thirty years in a fierce publishing environment dominated by corporate juggernauts, is about to be brutally sacked by a newly appointed business consultant. Inevitably, and calamitously, Charles and Jim’s paths are about to collide.

A novel of intrigue, deceit and sheer desperation, Bestseller is a caustic portrait of contemporary culture and of Britain’s obsession with fame, success and becoming the next J.K. Rowling.

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"As a working publisher, a founder of Hesperus Press and a director of Calder Publications, Alessandro Gallenzi has first-hand knowledge of the publishing world. While not necessarily directed at paying off old scores, his first novel Bestseller shows that its creator clearly enjoys laying about him, not just at the book trade's monsters and grotesque, but at their consensual victims in the shape of writers and editorial underlings." - TLS

"A novel which is light yet serious, funny and painful, somewhat fantastic yet shot through with truth" – Allan Massie, The Scotsman

"Gallenzi... slips in sound insider’s judgements on how this business works. Read it for the lowdown on the low trade" – Boyd Tonkin, The Independent

"Very funny and too awfully right in so many ways" – Tim Parks

“Too depressing, too accurate” - Tibor Fischer

"Very amusing - a Conrad on the way." - John Calder

"A clever satire on the world of publishing" – The Times

"A fine comic caper and a biting satire on the publishing industry... it is cleverly plotted and lands several juicy thumps on its target." Independent on Sunday

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Now available as an e-book (ISBN 9781846881381) from Waterstone's and Amazon


Read an excerpt from Bestseller

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