You may have noticed some notably high prices in some of the Project Publish markets. Then again we thought this might happen. As these markets won’t close until September (see contest rules), they’ll most likely attract more traders as the deadline nears, which may well balance things out.

And – while Media Predict doesn’t speculate as to anyone’s reasons for trading – a few e-mailers have wondered whether “supportive readers” in the meantime are inflating prices.

According to the contest rules, if a book gets a book deal or is one of five books selected for the Project Publish shortlist, then the shares are worth $100. If that doesn’t happen, shares are worth nothing.

Suffice to say that the short-selling features on this site are fully functional. Thus if a market is priced at $99.9 – and if it doesn’t meet the above criteria – then shares short-sold at 10 cents a piece could be worth a stupefying $100 each at the end of the contest.

Anyone wanting a shot at the top spot?