Michael Moore Outsells David Beckham

Michael Moore's root-and-branch onslaught against George Bush and the globalised economy yesterday brought off a coup in publishing, if not politics.

It topped David Beckham's biography among
bestselling non-fiction titles for 2003. Moore's Stupid White Men, lamenting that "the government has been seized by a ne'er-do-well rich boy and his elderly henchmen", came second to the Atkins New Diet Revolution.

It sold 481,343 copies, compared with 438,175 for
David Beckham: My Life in third place, according to
figures from book trade researchers Nielsen
BookScan.

Moore's book has been in shops longer, but without a fraction of the hype and marketing operation which should have led Beckham's book to top all lists. The Real Madrid star's tome rates only fourth even among bestselling bio graphies this Christmas. It is being beaten at the tills by Martin Johnson's and Paul Burrell's stories, and by EastEnders actor Shane Richie's From Rags to Richie.

Last night Rosie Glaisher, a spokeswoman for Moore's publisher, Penguin, said the author's UK tour this year had drawn 20,000 people.

"Michael has always said he speaks for a lot of
people," she said. "He has a real audience among the young, particularly those who want to change the world. His book is about the US, but its scepticism can be applied to the country of anyone reading it."

In all 2003's titles, the Atkins diet book, with sales of 826,000, came second only to the new Harry Potter, which sold 3.31m.

Another coup was achieved by independent publishers, who scooped huge sales in several categories. Yann Martell's Booker prize-winning novel Life of Pi was third top seller of all titles. This feat helped its tiny Edinburgh publisher Canongate to 67.5% growth in the year, according to today's Bookseller magazine.

Profile Books staff are celebrating the emergence of Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss's dissection of bad English, as the No 1 Christmas bestseller. Shane Richie is published by Contender Books, an independent founded less than two years ago.

"These are examples of successful, daring publishing that is easier to achieve within small companies," said Sheila Bounford of the Independent Publishers Guild.

"The chain of command is short. There is far less of a culture of corporate procrastination, they can act quicker when they spot an opportunity. They are probably less likely to be brought down by bad
commissioning decisions because there is simply not funding to take huge risks."