The Savoy's resident writer

She is famed for unabashedly defying convention - in both her novels and her business dealings.

Only last year, Fay Weldon provoked howls of consternation for accepting a private commission from jeweller Bulgari to write a novel entitled The Bulgari Connection peppered with references to the company.

Now the 70-year-old author is set to strike another deal, this time with The Savoy.

She is due to be given the free run of a £350-a-night room at the hotel for three months. As an added extra, she will be entitled to a daily free breakfast from The Savoy's kitchens. Its eggs benedict are said to be particularly fine.

And the price for all this largesse? Nothing, except that The Savoy will be able to boast that Weldon is its "writer-in-residence" for the duration of her stay.

Although The Savoy regards the appointment of Weldon as its first official "writer-in-residence" as a done deal, the author has yet to commit to it. But the use of such a luxurious writing room, plus sustaining eggs benedict, could be just what she needs as she faces a deadline to complete her latest novel.

The Savoy's PR chief Pam Carter, who set up the writer-in-residence scheme, hopes Weldon will be the first in a long line of literary guests enjoying free hospitality. Ms Carter said there was "nobody we could have wanted more" than Weldon to initiate the novel scheme.

"The Savoy has had literary connections since Arnold Bennet wrote here, and it is a tradition we are delighted to continue with the writers-in-residence idea.

"The point is to give writers a literary base in London, and we're hoping our other guests will be able to take advantage of being near the authors.

"We will organise occasional events which the writers will attend but, other than that, they will be left to their own devices."

Weldon, whose prodigious output includes The Life And Loves Of A She Devil, was unavailable for comment. She may be slightly nervous at how her latest literary wheeze will go down with those critics who were less than impressed by her acceptance of Bulgari's patronage.

Weldon said she had initially spurned the offer to write a bespoke novel for a corporate client. "I thought, 'Oh no, dear me, I am a literary author. You can't do this type of thing; my name will be mud forever.' But after a while, I thought, 'I don't care. They never give me the Booker Prize anyway.'"