Meghan Markle ‘poisons the water’ for authors with past venture

Meghan Markle seemingly irked an entire community after “flop” side-hustle gets unexpected attention.

The Duchess of Sussex, who indulged into a multitude of business ventures following her exit from royal family in 2020, also delved into writing and produced a children’s book.

However, many children’s book authors have expressed their displeasure how celebrities, including Meghan, have waded into the field without any effort and talent, discrediting the work of authors who truly deserve the attention.

“These celebrities do not need any more money or exposure, but plenty of genuine writers do,” author, poet and performer Joshua Seigal previously told The Guardian.

“Writing for children is an art,” Seigal continued. “It requires skill, practice and discipline. I work really hard on my art, and it’s quite galling that people seem to think it is something that’s easy to do.”

According to Nielsen BookScan, Meghan’s 2021 book, The Bench, made a lot of headlines but in terms of sales it only sold 8,000 copies in UK.

The book was based on a poem Meghan wrote for Prince Harry on his first Father’s Day with Prince Archie.

At the time, critic for Times, Alex O’Connell, said it “lacks the crucial ingredients for a successful tale for this age group: a good story and basic rhythm”.

Another author Katherine Rundell also lamented that celebrities using their fame to enter the field “poisons the water” and makes it harder to find “great children's fiction”.

“It makes it harder for parents and teachers to find great children's fiction, and it makes children's fiction look like something cheap and thin, instead of what it is a literature with its own strangenesses, its own rigours, its own power,” the author surmised.