Sex is everywhere, at least in the Independent, as they talk about a new adaptation of LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER along with the so-called rise in "bad-girl lit" or whatever you want to call the lumping-together of sex bloggers with book deals.

And speaking of it -- well, the leadup, in any case -- the Observer comments on the slowly growing phenomenon of "read dating" which is essentially speed dating with books.

Literary agent Stella Kane was so disgusted with how the Rights Centre at LBF was run that she's setting up her own at the Arts Club in Mayfair. She reasons: "Instead of shivering in a wind-swept barn furnished with nylon day-glo carpets, queuing half an hour for Benjy's sandwiches with a 200% mark up, why not have your appointments in the illustrious surroundings of the Arts Club, which has been a meeting place for writers since 1863?"

Publishers Marketplace reports that SF-based Packager Weldon Owen has been sold to UK-based Bonnier Publishing. Says Bonnier CEO Des Higgins, "We've been looking for the right opportunity to make significant inroads into adult and educational publishing and Weldon Owen has enabled us to achieve both these strategic goals simultaneously."

And in a rare interview, Danielle Steel tells the Melbourne Age about how she's averaged 3 books a year since 1973 and coped with the tumult of her personal life, which has included multiple marriages, financial troubles and tragedy.