The journals are an intimate portrait of an artist of great influence

Julie Grau, Riverhead

The estate manager James Barber told the newspaper that the journals contained "really cool stuff".

"He's not here and [the estate's] responsibility is to promote his creativity and his legacy," said Mr Barber is quoted as saying in the paper.

Depression

The journals contain a handwritten draft of Smells Like Teen Spirit, the song which helped make the band global stars and launched the grunge movement.

The journals are said to include accounts of Cobain's battles with depression and heroin addiction as well as exhaustive lists of his favourite records.

Rules he set for the band as they climbed to critical and commercial success with album Nevermind are also included along with many letters he received from fans.

Julie Grau, editorial director of Riverhead, said: "The journals are an intimate portrait of an artist of great influence."

The journals were started when he was a teenager and cover Cobain's time at the top of the music industry until his suicide in 1994 at the age of 27.

The deal comes after a bitter legal battle between Love and the surviving members of Nirvana over the rights to a collection of unreleased songs written by Cobain for the band.

Love is involved in legal action with Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl and last year she blocked the release of a Nirvana box set of CDs.