About a year ago we published the hardback of Pleasurable Kingdom, a wonderful book by Jonathan Balcombe which argues that animals can feel pleasure. Here's the jacket which demonstrates the thesis.

The book hasn't (yet) made the bestseller lists but it has sold decently and its paperback release in July will give it further impetus. When we first published we focussed attention on the core markets of UK and USA but I was delighted to see just this week that the Macmillan machine burst into action in India last week to support the author on a tour and to ensure great press coverage such as this. It sometimes takes time for a book to reach its potential audience and it definitely takes patience. It also takes determination. Special thanks to Kalpana Shukla and her sales and marketing team in India. It's not always the obvious books which need marketing support.

But a forthcoming best selling book which will definitely be receiving the full marketing works is in house now and being prepared for worldwide publication this Autumn. It is the latest thriller from Ken Follett entitled World without End. It is a sequel to his record-breaking Pillars of the Earth and I have absolutely no doubt that it will outsell all the other 20-odd books called World without End! Thank goodness there's no copyright in a book title.

Incidentally, today is a big day here at Macmillan because we promised various people that they would have an up and running digital BookStore by the close of play today. As with all deadlines we are right up against it and teams in the UK and India are working franticly hard to deliver. I'll report tomorrow on whether we've kept our promise.

For those of you who not yet seen it and for everyone who loves gossip, intrigue and a publishing soap opera please go to Even Bitches Have Feelings and enjoy the story of Judith Regan, Rupert Murdoch and O.J.Simpson. I think that the whole animal kingdom should find pleasure in this - with one or two notable exceptions.