Author to float himself on stock exchange

Publicity might be the lifeblood of the book trade these days but author Cathal Morrow is going public in more ways than one with plans to float himself on the London Stock Exchange.

Publicity might be the lifeblood of the book trade these days but author Cathal Morrow is going public in more ways than one with plans to float himself on the London Stock Exchange.

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Having previously wangled sponsorship from a private equity company to fund a year without lying — he's writing up his exploits as the book Yes We Kant — Morrow is hopeful that patrons looking for a more unusual investment will back this latest project, Me Me Me Plc [plc = public limited company].

"Rather than one company owning part of the intellectual property of a project, a lot of people will own a smaller part of me," he says. Morrow is offering a total of 30,000 shares in himself at £10 a piece (he's retaining 30%, "the vital organs and so forth"). Because he's not legally allowed to sell shares in himself, what investors are actually buying is a signed photo of the author, with the shares given for free.