Bookplanet: newspaper vendor gets book deal

A Pakistani newspaper vendor in Paris with a unique selling style has won a book deal to have his life story published. Ali Akbar, who sells copies of Le Monde on the streets of the French capital's fashionable St Germain des Pres district, arrived in the country as an illegal immigrant more than 30 years ago - leaving behind a tough childhood in Pakistan. He then made a name for himself by the way he sold the newspapers, shouting amusing slogans, or making up headlines, such as "Monica Lewinsky is pregnant by Bush" or "Le Pen assassinated." His fame became such that a publisher picked up on his life story - now to be published as Je Fais Rire Le Monde, Mais Le Monde Me Fait Pleurer (I Make The World Laugh, But The World Makes Me Cry). Via Moby Lives.