I've just been passed a press release from Grove, saying they've bought the book rights to Salam Pax's diaries. (Salam Pax, for those on another planet, is the pseudonymous Baghdad blogger, who became an instant celebrity during the war.) The book will be called SALAM PAX: The Internet Diaries of Life Inside Baghdad -- though the Grove website has the title as My Name is Salam Pax, which sounds better, even if it is a cliche. No word yet on the advance but, given the competition for Salam's book, it must be well into the six figures. Which would make Salam one of the richest men in Iraq -- if one excludes the local warlords and mullahs, that is. And they said no one would ever make money out of blogging.
   One other observation. The publishing industry, supposedly hidebound, has been quick to pick up on weblog talent. The writers on both Gawker and Gizmodo have had feelers from agents and publishers; many other bloggers too. The publishing industry treats weblogs, quite sensibly, as just another talent pool. And that makes the conservatism of American newspapers all the more remarkable. They are embarrassingly slow to recognize talent. In any functioning newspaper market, the old columnists would be sent out to pasture, and a blogger like Ken Layne would have a picture byline by now.
Grove/Atlantic