The "unadulterated" diaries of the late Kurt Cobain containing frank accounts of his battles with depression, drug addiction and fame, are to be published later this year.
The innermost thoughts of the former frontman of the band Nirvana, scribbled in 23 spiral-bound notebooks over 10 years or so, form the bulk of an 800-page manuscript.
The rights to publish a book derived from these journals were acquired on Monday by Riverhead Books, a US subsidiary of the British media group Pearson. The deal with Cobain's estate, which is managed by his widow, Courtney Love, is understood to be worth at least £2m.
Heroin addiction, groupies, family problems and frequent bouts of depression, all feature in the diaries which Cobain kept from early adolescence until he died at the age of 27.
The star shot himself in April 1994 at the couple's home in Seattle, Washington. In his suicide note he said he had lost his sense of passion and believed his daughter, Frances Bean, would be better off without him. The now infamous note, as well as drawings, exhaustive lists and a handwritten draft of Smells Like Teen Spirit, the hit that helped make his grunge band chart toppers, will be included in the still untitled work.
Riverhead Books announced yesterday it had acquired the world publishing rights in a pre-emptive bid just hours before a planned auction. The book will be published in the UK by Viking.
"The journals are an intimate, unadulterated portrait of an artist of great influence. They reveal Cobain's vision and design, they document his struggles. They are provocative, moving, funny and show him to be very smart and aware," said Julie Grau, co-editorial director of Riverhead.
The book, expected to be on the shelves by November, will include some familiar details for fans who have read the Cobain biography Heavier than Heaven, by Charles R Cross. Love agreed to grant Cross exclusive access to the singer's journals to help with his book, published last year.
Meanwhile, Love has been locked in a long-standing legal battle with two of Nirvana's former members, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, over control of the band's legacy. Cobain and Novoselic formed the band in 1987, recruiting Grohl in 1990. Although the singer wrote most of the songs, the band's first album credited all three members. The surviving musicians say that Nirvana was always a partnership, with members sharing expenses and splitting the proceeds.
The two men have accused Love of being an "irrational prima donna" who is "appropriating" Cobain's work to further her own career. She says they contributed little to Nirvana's success.
Last year, Love got an injunction to block the release of a Nirvana box set assembled by Novoselic and Grohl. She also filed a complaint against Grohl, Novoselic, and Universal Music Group, seeking a declaration that Nirvana's contract with the firm was void and that all rights pertaining to the band should revert to her. In December, Grohl and Novoselic filed a countersuit in an attempt to get her complaint dismissed. The case will be heard this autumn.
