Julian Assange's ghost writer breaks silence on failed autobiography

WikiLeaks founder a mercurial character who could not bear his own secrets, according to writer Andrew O'HaganThe ghostwriter who collaborated with Julian Assange on his abortive 2011 autobiography has broken his silence to describe his months working with the WikiLeaks founder, which culminated in the acrimonious collapse of one of the highest profile and most lucrative book deals of recent times.Three years after he was first introduced to the Australian, Andrew O'Hagan has now spoken out about how he worked with Assange on the book, which he said the publishers Canongate had sold in more than 40 countries for a total of US$2.5m before the deal dramatically imploded. In a lengthy, nuanced essay for the London Review of Books, a version of which he delivered in a lecture in London on Friday, O'Hagan describes working with a mercurial character who was, by turns, passionate, funny, lazy, courageous, vain, paranoid, moral and manipulative.The book deal ultimately collapsed, O'Hagan writes, because "the man who put himself in charge of disclosing the world's secrets simply couldn't bear his own. The story of his life mortified him and sent him scurrying for excuses. He didn't want to do the book. He hadn't from the beginning."Assange, he writes, was persuaded to agree to the autobiography by his lawyers who said the huge sums on offer would cover his mounting legal costs. He had initially been enthusiastic about the project, telling his ghostwriter that he "hoped to have... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #daniel ellsberg

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Julian Assange's ghost writer breaks silence on failed autobiography'


Disney 'Furious' at NBC for Breaking Embargo on Kennedy Book

Disney execs are “furious” that the world exclusive on the embargoed Jackie Kennedy book and audiotapes was broken by NBC, and not ABC, according to the New York Post’s Keith Kelly. Both ABC and the book’s publisher, Hyperion, are owned by Disney. The book, “Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tuesday morning #bookstore owner #exclusive rights #day ahead #diane sawyer


One Day top as new releases fail to boost market

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 06/09/2011 - 16:04 David Nicholls' One Day (Hodder) remains comfortably the bestselling book in the UK. The novel, which currently tops the Amazon, Apple and Waterstone's ebook charts, sold 83,050 physical copies of its original and tie-in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uk booksellers #previous week #bestselling book #ebook charts #popular purchase #james patterson


Chorion seeks buyer after failing to ease debt

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 05/09/2011 - 08:05 Buyers are being sought for Mr Men and Agatha Christie franchise owner Chorion after the company failed to renegotiate its banking arrangements to ease its £70m debt. The company breached its banking covenants earlier this... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mr men #company failed #debt burden


One Day breaks seven-day August record

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 31/08/2011 - 15:20 David Nicholls' One Day (Hodder) has broken the record for the biggest ever weekly sale from an adult-readership novel in the month of August. Across all print editions, One Day sold 92,336 copies at UK booksellers in the seven... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #27th august #previous record #day hodder #weekly sale #print editions #uk booksellers #dan brown


F + W Media Acquires The Writers Store

Adding to their rapidly expanding portfolio of e-commerce storefronts, F + W Media acquired The Writers Store. Becoming the 26th store under the F + W umbrella, The Writers Store sells third-party writing and filmmaking tools globally. The Writers Store offers tools, services and exclusive... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


BREAKING: Schofield Media Shutters U.S. Operations

B-to-B publisher Schofield Media is shutting down its U.S. operations after "unexpectedly" losing its bank financing. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Fathers Day fails to boost June book sales - BRC

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 12/07/2011 - 09:37 Widespread offers and Fathers Day failed to affect book sales falling in June compared to 2010, according to the British Retail Consortium. Figures out today show total sales in the UK were up 1.5% last month in comparison to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #june compared #year-earlier level #fathers day #e-book readers


Assange Canongate deal "fallen through"

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 07/07/2011 - 08:55 Canongate's near million-pound book deal for the memoirs of Wikileaks-founder Julian Assange is now in doubt, according to reports in the Guardian today. The deal was signed in December, with Canongate buying world... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rights selling


Digital surge fails to affect B&N bottom line

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 21/06/2011 - 15:49 Barnes & Noble has announced a full year loss of $74m (£45.6m), despite a surge in digital sales lead by its Nook ebook reader helping it to report an all-time high in yearly sales of $7bn (£4.3bn). read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #all-time high


Goldsboro Books set for "record-breaking" year

Publication Date: Thu, 16/06/2011 - 09:10 Goldsboro Books has revealed it is on-track for a record-breaking financial year after moving premises in March. The 12-year-old independent London bookshop, which specialises in first edition signed copies, said May prevailed as its “best ever” month... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #financial year #financial quarter


Women writers "unequal to me" says V S Naipaul

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 02/06/2011 - 08:37 Nobel Prize-winning author V S Naipaul has declared that women's writing is "unequal" to his, during an event at the Hay Festival. The writer, who won the Man Booker in 1971 for In a Free State, said during an interview... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #women writers #hay festival #man booker #free state


"Weak" UK fails to hold back Quarto

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 01/06/2011 - 09:16 Profit and sales have increased at co-edition publisher Quarto although it warned the UK market remains "weak". Ahead of today's annual general meeting, chairman and c.e.o. Laurence Orbach said sales were up 4% to $178.5m... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #laurence orbach #non-current intangibles #exceptional items


Em dashes—why writers should use them more sparingly.

According to the Associated Press Stylebook—Slate's bible for all things punctuation- and grammar-related—there are two main prose uses—the abrupt change and the series within a phrase—for the em dash. The guide does not explicitly say that writers can use the dash in lieu of properly crafting... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Forna wins Commonwealth Writers Prize

Publication Date: Mon, 23/05/2011 - 12:15 Aminatta Forna has won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2011 Best Book for her novel The Memory of Love (Bloomsbury). The judges described the novel as "a bold, deeply moving and accomplished novel which confirms her place among the most talented writers... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #commonwealth writers #love bloomsbury #deeply moving


Quadrille scores four on Guild of Food Writers shortlists

Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 13:07 Quadrille has scored four nominations for this year's Guild of Food Writers awards. Titles from Stevie Parle, Josceline Dimbleby, Mark Hix and Mark Diacono were shortlisted, with the latter's A Taste of the Unexpected squaring up against two Jacqui... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mark hix #food book


Book sales bounce over spring break

Written By: Philip Jones and Jenny Roper Publication Date: Wed, 27/04/2011 - 16:00 Book sales dropped 9% last week as the Easter weekend cut into retail time, but the market was still up on the same week last year with sales up 2.1%, a second consecutive week of year-on-year growth after a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #consecutive week #book sales #spring break #philip jones #year-on-year growth #23rd april


'Glorious' Paul Gascoigne autobiography to S&S

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 20/04/2011 - 08:38 Simon & Schuster has bought world rights to a book by Tottenham and England footballer Paul Gascoigne. Described as a "celebration" of his career, Glorious: My World, Football and Me will be published on 13th October 2011.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Easter break boosts market

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 19/04/2011 - 15:35 Physical book sales in the seven days to 16th April soared 6.4% (£1.6m) week-on-week and were up 4.3% (£1.1m) on the same week last year, according to Nielsen BookScan data. Helped by schools breaking for the Easter holidays,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #previous week #book sales #fiction sales #4% year-on-year


Julian Barnes awarded David Cohen Prize

Publication Date: Fri, 18/03/2011 - 08:20 Three-times Man Booker-shortlisted author Julian Barnes has been awarded the £40,000 David Cohen Prize for Literature for his lifetime’s achievement in literature. Barnes was presented with the award by chair of judges Mark Lawson at a gala ceremony at... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #gala ceremony #reading agency


Mulholland Books acquires debut by "Saw" writers

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 09:04 Hodder thriller imprint Mulholland Books has acquired a fiction debut by "Saw" writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, and author, screenwriter and illustrator Stephen Romano. Editor Ruth Tross bought British... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiction debut #european rights #nancy wiese