Irvine Welsh – the author of “the most shoplifted book in history” – has urged people to keep stealing copies of Trainspotting because he gets royalties when they are nicked.
Welsh, 62, says he is paid even when his novels are stolen from shops due to stores having to cover the cost to publishers.
The Scots author’s 1993 tale about a group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh famously went on to become a major film starring Ewan McGregor and Kelly Macdonald.
But Welsh revealed there is a financial loophole which means anyone nicking copies of Trainspotting and his other novels – The Acid House, Filth, and Porno – is “brilliant” for him because his bank balance is still boosted.
Welsh said: “It is a source of pride that people kinda nick it.
“I always get some wee yob that comes up to me and goes, ‘I got your books, I stole them all’.
“I say, ‘Well, look, I appreciate that because they usually go to the book sellers on a sale or return basis.
“That means I get my royalties.
“So I appreciate you stealing them because it means double sure that I get paid. Fabulous. It’s brilliant. It’s unbeatable.”
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