Chinese publishers rush Jackson biography into print

Surviving on a diet of coffee and cigarettes, two Chinese writers have written an "instant book" on Michael Jackson in just 48 hours.

A reader browses a biography of Michael Jackson at the Xinhua  Bookstore yesterday in Beijing. Books about the late star are  appearing on bookshelves only a week after his death. [China Daily]

The 130,000-word book, titled Moonwalk in Paradise - the Michael Jackson biography, written by Jiang Xiaoyu and Xing Han, and published by Chinese publishing house Xiandai was available for pre-order sales online on Friday and on bookshelves Saturday.

The writers, who were contacted within hours of Jackson's death, said they switched off their mobile phones and didn't sleep for two days while they wrote the book.

A report in China Youth Daily said the writers never met or interviewed Jackson and simply wrote the story from their "accumulated knowledge about the king of pop".

"Though it is hard to tell how big the market for instant books is in China, I am sure we have done a nice job on quickly responding to market needs," Zang Yongqing, general editor of Xiandai, told China Daily.

Jiang, who has written blogs and reviews about the pop icon, said he hoped his book would help Chinese fans find a better way to relieve their pain.