Boris Johnson (Peter Byrne/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)Boris Johnson announced a deal for his memoirs yesterday with Harper Collins. But what does it mean for his book on Shakespeare, now eight years overdue?
We hear Johnson is still planning on finishing the long-promised project. In 2015, Johnson agreed a rumoured £500,000 fee with rival publisher Hodder & Stoughton for a book on the bard. It went on hold as politics got in the way, though efforts were made to keep writing: it was reported that he’d asked Shakespeare scholars for help.
Johnson is reported to have got “seven figures” for his memoir. That’s more than his old Etonian rival, fellow ex-PM David Cameron, who’s said to have got £800,000 for a 2019 book, which was given to charity. Fees can vary: Tony Blair got £4.5m, while Sir Keir Starmer’s delayed book with Harper Collins netted just £18,000.
Waxing lyrical
Poet Anthony Johnson won the £25,000 TS Eliot Poetry Prize at the Wallace Collection last night. Joseph, who lectures at King’s College London, took the award for Sonnets With Albert, about his largely absent father. Collecting the money, Johnson spoke movingly of how precarious it is to be a poet, and urged for more respect for the form.
Where is Starmer? asks Mick Lynch
Union leader Mick Lynch told Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to “stand with us” at a rally by campaign group Enough is Enough outside No 10 last night, protesting against a bill which will restrict the right to strike. “Where’s the Labour front bench?” Lynch asked Sir Keir: “Don’t be a vanilla politician in a manila suit”. Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana spoke, the latter then rushing to the Commons.
Living memorial for the late Queen
Hampstead Heath has got some new rather royal trees. Last weekend the City of London Corporation, which runs the heath, began planting 11 oaks, 11 elms and 11 apple and pear trees, as a “living memorial” to Queen Elizabeth II. The idea was first part of last year’s platinum jubilee, but the Queen died before saplings could be planted. The King agreed that it could become a memorial area.
Last night in town
Star Trek’s George Takei was in London last night launching his new musical, Allegiance, set in a camp for Japanese-Americans in WWII. Stars Aynrand Ferrer and Telly Leung went too. New Love Island host Maya Jama was back in London to watch the first episode with friends, who served ‘Casa Amour’ cocktails. Presenter Reggie Yates went to the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards with host Rachel Parris. And Victoria Beckham used herself as a model, doing a fitting for her label’s summer collection.
