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“This Is Kent”, an English local newspaper, reports on a sweet story of one pensioner whose self-published book was read by Princess Diana. There’s hope for us all.

Thanks to modern technology, writing and printing your own work has never been easier. And if you’re looking for more professional results, there are plenty of publishers willing to take on the job.

But back in 1990, when Josephine Butcher decided to design and print her childhood memoir, I Was Born on the Pantiles, self-publishing was often seen as a bit of a joke, at least in professional circles.

Not that the

Author Iain Banks has announced on his website that he has just months to live after being diagnosed with bladder cancer.

The 59-year-old announced the book he is currently working on, entitled The Quarry, is likely to be his last after cancer spread to his liver, pancreas and lymph nodes.

In a personal statement on his official website, the Wasp Factory writer said he asked his partner Adele to marry him and is now on a short honeymoon.

He said: ‘The bottom line now, I’m afraid, is that as a late-stage gall bladder cancer patient, I’m expected to live for

John Winters writes about becoming a published author in Salon today. It’s a bitter perspective, but one that piques and gives some insights into publicizing your book.

I am contorting myself in front of the bathroom mirror, iPhone in hand, a porkpie hat on my head and a pair of black-framed Jonathan Franzen glasses perched on my nose. I am trying to capture an image of myself that does not look like me. Sans these accouterments, I am balding and thin faced with perpetual bags under my eyes – sort of like the father on “That ’70s Show” in need