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Sphere has pre-empted a title by comedy duo Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller for publication later this year, amid "extremely keen interest" from "several major" publishers.
Editor-in-chief Antonia Hodgson and deputy publisher David Shelley bought British Commonwealth rights to the as-yet-untitled work from agent Luigi Bonomi for a "very good" six-figure sum. The publisher is scheduling an October release, co-ordinating with the comedy duo's 50-date UK tour and a third series of "The Armstrong and Miller Show".
Bonomi described Little, Brown's enthusiasm for the book as "stratospheric", adding: "If [Armstrong and Miller's] 50-date tour, which is almost totally sold out, is anything to go by, this book is going to be this autumn's big bestseller."
The book will be produced as a "lavish" hardback, highly illustrated and containing original material based around characters from the pair's BBC1 show. Shelley compared it in concept to the 1971 publication Monty Python's Big Red Book (Methuen). "It is really substantial, quirky, innovative—it won't look like any other book on the market," he said.
Sphere will also produce a smartphone app to accompany the book, which will be "promoted across a variety of platforms".
Hodgson said: "It's a huge pleasure to welcome them to Little, Brown. They are full of ideas
and the book is going to be brilliant—a high-quality, completely original comedy book produced with real passion and care. We have lots of exciting ideas for publication and the authors are very keen to support the book with major publicity."