Shadowmancer author filed Freedom of Information request (?!) to get hold of internal BBC correspondence:
His second novel, Wormwood, sold 22,000 copies on one day, yet he says that the makers of Blue Peter told him that he was not welcome. “A BBC producer told me ‘off the record’ that it was a matter of my faith and the fact that I was an Anglican priest. ‘We can’t be seen to be promoting Jesus’, he said with a laugh.”
Internal correspondence between BBC staff, obtained by the author under the Freedom of Information Act, shows unease about the writer, although the documents question his character rather than his faith.
One email was sent by Christine Morgan, BBC radio’s executive producer of religion. She wrote: “He does an impressive job of publicising his work but he is not universally admired… He has a very high opinion of his own books and in recent press releases there were constant references to him being the writer to take on J K Rowling’s mantle. There’s something quite revealing about their tone.”
Whereas Amis and Rushdie think their own books are shite, natch…
