Bring him to book

A SERIES of expat authors – including Driving Over Lemons writer Chris Stewart – have become embroiled in a battle for royalties with their publisher.

Among those awaiting payment, British novelist David Baird claims he is owed thousands of euros for the sales of his 2008 book Between Two Fires.

Now, almost 100 people have created a Facebook group demanding they are paid their dues by Almuzara publishers, based in Cordoba.

“It is outrageous, there are translators and writers who have flogged their guts out for the sum total of nothing,” claimed Baird, who is reportedly owed 4000 euros.

Almuzara was created by former PP politician Manuel Pimentel in 2004.

Pimental boasted in 2007 that the company made a net profit of some four million euros despite growing concerns that its employees were not being paid.

And disgruntled former colleagues have created a Facebook group consisting of 96 members called ‘Manuel Pimentel has not paid me’.

The group is protesting against the “systematic lack of payment for all of his employees”.

Among the website posts, group creator, Jaime Galbarro, explained: “He owes money to so many people.”

However, Almuzara Financial Director Juan Ignacio Lopez insisted that the publisher owed Baird 597.50 euros, instead of 4000 euros.

Lopez explained: “We have had difficulties paying people with the current economic crisis.

“We are trying to pay everyone bit by bit and hopefully we will pay what David is owed within the next two months.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Driving over Lemons author Chris Stewart waged his own legal battle against Almuzara last year, which was eventually settled out of court.

The former Genesis drummer claimed that he was owed up to 150,000 euros by the publisher.

“It was all sorted out at the end of last year,” he told the Olive Press.