Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta has signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish his autobiography this October, provisionally titled The Reluctant Dancer. With publishers spending more than £10m on advances for celebrity autobiographies last year, Acosta isn't the only cultural star joining the fray. Orion paid £1.7m for Julie Walters' memoirs; Pete Doherty is still making last-minute changes to his book, causing havoc for his publishers; and Eric Clapton, Richard Attenborough, Ranulph Fiennes and Helen Mirren all have autobiographies out this autumn.

Nobody can beat Alastair Campbell's coup, though. The former spin doctor's autobiography, out this year, will be accompanied by a three-part BBC2 series of the author reading extracts from his own book.