Neil Gaiman responds to the ridiculous hype around Fifty Shades of Grey

The Stardust author told a fan not to worry about the kinky trilogy's saturation of the literary market

Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and Anansi Boys are to be adapted for two TV series (Getty Images)

Neil Gaiman has told a fan not to 'fret' about the popularity of critically condemned commercial literature, such as the Fifty Shades franchise.

A concerned reader asked on his Tumblr: "Do you think the commercialization of literature [sic]... has put good, thoughtful and valuable literature at risk?" He used the fact that the sales figures of EL James' Fifty Shades trilogy have far outstripped those of dystopian Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury.

Back in 2012, Fifty Shades of Grey was already the best-selling book in Britain since records began, in spite of its reputation as poorly written "mommy porn".

Gaiman, who has written much-loved books including Coraline and Stardust, said that this is how the books market has been for years. "Nothing’s changed. Some books are, often inexplicably, bestsellers," he wrote. "That’s been the way of it for a hundred and fifty years or more.

"Read the books you love, tell people about authors you like, and don’t worry about it."

Gaiman added: "Ray Bradbury sold quite a lot of books in 1956, and quite a lot of books in 2006 (Fahrenheit 451 alone has sold over 5 million copies), and he found his readers for his books and his stories in every year. And I’ll wager a hundred years from now he’ll still be read…

"So, honestly, I wouldn’t fret, if I were you."