Director David Cronenberg is taking a break from movie making to write his first novel.

The Fly filmmaker has already been inundated with offers of publishing deals for his first book - despite the fact he has only written 60 pages, and has yet to decide what direction his creation will take.

Cronenberg, whose last movie was 2007’s Eastern Promises, made the announcement at the Rome Film Festival in Italy last week.

He said: “It’s not like (horror author) Stephen King - but what it is exactly, I don’t know yet.”