Bono’s memoir: It may be another celebrity book, but who wouldn’t have a peek into the star’s life?

Bono, who has lived a less ordinary life than your average 62-year-old Northsider, will have plenty to write about. This book has long been a curiosity and will likely do serious business regardless of whether its songwriting nous translates to the written page.

While no financial details of the book deal have been released, it’s safe to assume Bono joins a long list of famous celebs who have signed significant deals to write about themselves. The Obamas famously received $65 million for their 2017 memoir. Will and A promised land; Britney Spears’ untitled memoir, set for release later this year, has been signed for an estimated $15 million.

For the average writer, these numbers are almost unfathomable. Corresponding SalaryExplorer.com, creative writers earn around €26,000 a year in Ireland. It doesn’t take great leaps to wonder how many writing careers might be bolstered, and what kind of contribution to literature might be made, with the kind of stunning advances from those whose contracts are offered on the basis of high profile.

Massive advances in books also mean publishers tend to lean their marketing weight into these titles to recoup their investment. If you’re an author familiar with the muck and the vagaries of pitching, it must be a little annoying to see how high-profile celebrities seem to be wanting a book deal, and to see the book being readied for publication not long after.

According to a report in the Guardian Newspapers, comedians and YouTubers have rushed into the market in recent years, some signing six-figure deals, while professional writers’ advances have plummeted to three- and four-figure figures.

The dominance of celebrity titles in the book market should ideally be a good thing for all involved: all boats get on, room for all, and so on. But the sheer number of celebrity books — some of which serve only to promote the star’s personal brand and not much more — means that in reality, authors are not just competing for book advances and marketing money, but also for shelf space.

And yet the fact remains: the book business is first and foremost a business. The forecasting business in the creative industries is known to be risk-averse. In the confrontation between a newcomer who’s an untried entity who may or may not succeed, and a superstar with a following in the millions, it doesn’t take a Pulitzer winner to figure out who a publisher might be betting its chips on.

Time will tell if Bono’s memoirs will be a masterclass in navel-gazing.

But to (it says here) “fearless,” “honest,” and “intimate” look inside the head of someone that absolutely everyone on this island has an opinion on, one way or another — it takes an iron will, it not to have your head spinning at the same time.

The trial of Wagatha Christie is dingy theater

If you thought “racy” took on a whole new meaning in the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation trial, you haven’t seen anything. The Wagatha Christie trial, in which Rebekah Vardy accuses fellow WAG colleague Coleen Rooney of defaming her in the High Court, is tickling on the next level.