New audiobook edition out now
Audible have just issued a new, unabridged audiobook of Outlaws Inc. It’s narrated by Seattle actor and voice artist Jeff Kafer, and while it’s potentially a little weird to have my voice suddenly become that of a West Coast American, let’s face it, it’s probably for the best. You know, all due apologies to Slough,…
Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout linked to UK horsemeat scandal… And we’re, like, totally shocked
Looks like someone’s finally catching on. This is the network my book is about: “#Horsemeat firms linked to Russian arms dealer #ViktorBout” http://t.co/e4xTQnls. Rebel militias, high street retail giants, Somali pirates, fashion brands, Peruvian drug lords, our own government, ready-meal makers, all depend on some of the same shady people, but we all get it…
“Paddy? What a fantastic death abyss!” Why the 1990s were David Bowie’s REAL creative hot streak
My revisionist piece on the David Bowie’s least-known (but most creatively rewarding) purple patch was published in Sabotage Times today, just as the world hailed his latest offering. I argue that his lost years – Tin Machine, Black Tie White Noise, 1.Outside, Earthling, even The Buddha of Suburbia and his revelatory, manic…
News: Reader’s Digest publishes ‘Outlaws Inc’ in 26 languages as its Autumn adventure read
International literary selection Reader’s Digest has published a condensed version of Outlaws Inc. in its Autumn edition… and brought its international detective story home. The condensed extract is published in Norwegian, Swedish, Slovenian (a taster for the translation is here), Russian, French, Dutch, Hungarian, Finnish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, German, Italian, Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese,…
Life imitates ‘Outlaws Inc’, but with added cats: A flight to Afghanistan & a kitten called Il-76
From the “Now-that’s-what-I-call-a-literary-legacy” desk: this news, from Afghan pet rescue charity Nowzad, made my day. It seems a Russian-crewed Ilyushin-76 flight from the Gulf to Afghanistan was being unloaded in Kabul earlier this month when the crew discovered a half-starved feline stowaway. Taken in, first by the crew, then by Nowzad staff, the kitten…
News: A bit of Fry and Ronson… ‘Outlaws Inc.’ back up the WH Smith Bestseller chart
Short post this time, just to say thank you to everyone who helped to send Outlaws Inc. haring back up the bestseller chart. This was sent to me by motoring journo Will Dron, and I had to make sure he wasn’t messing with my head. Nestled between Stephen Fry and Jon Ronson is somewhere…
News: Japanese Manga comic takes on ‘Outlaws Inc.’
This knocked me for six: news that Japanese magazine Courrier Japon has just adapted Outlaws Inc. to Manga comic strip form. The adaptation published this month, is true to the book’s narrative and journalism – but supercharges it with some fantastic graphic novel-style visual storytelling. I love the portrayal of Mickey. Though the…
News: New book, ‘Parting Shots’ out June 2013
I can finally share some details on the next book. ‘Parting Shots’ is going to be the secret history of our times and society, as revealed through resignations. And I’d like your recommendations! Mostly, we’re talking Rebekah Brookses and Thatcher cabinet ministers, but I’d love to quote some unknown examples, too – and…
A modest proposal: or, how to save journalism, make money and safeguard self-regulation… by killing content
In this post, I suggest a way forward for journalism, both for journalists and media companies struggling to make content pay. But the future sketched here is about more than keeping (making) content financially viable. In the aftermath of the Leveson inquiry, I believe it could also be a way out of the…
‘Outlaws Inc.’ to appear in abridged form in Reader’s Digest editions worldwide
This autumn’s worldwide editions of legendary book-sampler The Reader’s Digest will see Matt’s latest book ‘Outlaws Inc.’ published in abridged form in a further 16 languages. They will complement the full UK/Commonwealth, US, German, Italian, Finnish and Romanian editions currently published, while in the UK, the updated mass-market paperback edition currently on the shelves…