Some American Publisher Better Scoop These Up

Alexei Sayle explains how he researched his first novel (or rather, his first in ages), Overtaken, which has apparently been out in England for a while, since Jonathan Coe was raving about it last fall, around the time Sayle was appearing at the Durham Literary Festival. A few days ago, he spoke at Royal Festival Hall with Mark Watson, another standup comedian who's turned to fiction, in his case Bullet Points, to critical acclaim.

Here's the Sayle short story "Barcelona Plates." And here's a videotape I'd love to own: Selling Hitler, with Sayle as the forger of those famous diaries and Barry Humphries as Rupert Murdoch.