“Book sales, particularly fiction, have been suffering since 11 September, and the impending war is prolonging the depression. You wouldn’t know it from a glance at the New York Times bestseller list – John Grisham, James Patterson, Michael Crichton, Jeffrey Archer – but the thriller market especially seems to be suffering. One publisher estimates that submissions of thrillers from agents are down by 30 per cent on previous years. Some agents fear that if publishers are not making the expected returns on their guaranteed big-hitters, the first casualty will be the debut novels and literary fiction that represent more of a gamble. Not everyone agrees, however.”