A two-year dispute between Emma Cline and her former boyfriend, Chaz Reetz-Laiolo has erupted in dueling lawsuits filed Wednesday in California federal court over allegations that Cline plagiarized portions of her 2016 debut novel The Girls through the use of computer spyware — allegations that Cline, in conjunction with Penguin Random House and The Clegg Agency vehemently deny. Reetz-Laiolo’s 79-page complaint (with more than 500 pages of supplemental exhibits) spins a story of Cline installing a keylogging software on a laptop that was once hers, later sold to him for $300, that was used to monitor his emails, as well […]
Authors
Minnesota Public Radio Fires Garrison Keillor Over Allegation Of Improper Behavior
Minnesota Public Radio has terminated its contracts with Garrison Keillor, producer of the Writer’s Almanac series and former host of A Prairie Home Companion, “after recently learning of inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him.” MPR said in a statement, “MPR takes these allegations seriously and we are committed to maintaining a safe, respectful and supportive work environment for all employees and everyone associated with MPR. We want a workplace where anyone who experiences unwanted behavior feels comfortable in reporting concerns to MPR. Discrimination, harassment, retaliation or other inappropriate behaviors will not be tolerated.” Keillor told the AP he was […]
People, Awards, Etc.
In personnel news, Pippa White has joined Callisto Media as editor. Previously she was an associate editor at Chronicle Books. Picks Target announced its December, January, and February Book Club Picks. The picks for December are The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak and The Party by Robyn Harding. The picks for January and February are The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill and The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti, respectively. Awards Michael Redhill won the Giller Prize for his novel Bellevue Square (Doubleday Canada). Poets & Writers announced the recipients of their 2018 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Awards: Chimamanda Ngozi […]
Robert Mercer Withdraws Support for Milo, Doesn’t Get Sued
Hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer wrote to colleagues “to correct some of the misinformation that has been published about me” and “to explain [his[ thinking, the very essence of which is that all of us should think for ourselves.” Much like Simon & Schuster, Mercer had backed Milo Yiannopoulos and then realized that was a mistake: “I supported Milo Yiannopoulos in the hope and expectation that his expression of views contrary to the social mainstream and his spotlighting of the hypocrisy of those who would close down free speech in the name of political correctness would promote the type of open […]
Penguin Press Cancels Halperin Book
Thursday evening Penguin Press announced it will cancel the book due for publication next spring from Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, the third in their Game Change series. The publisher said in a brief statement: “In light of the recent news regarding Mark Halperin, the Penguin Press has decided to cancel our plans to publish a book he was co-authoring on the 2016 election.” Penguin Press’s announcement came after HBO said they were “no longer proceeding with” a planned production based on the forthcoming book. “HBO has no tolerance for sexual harassment within the company or its productions,” the network […]
William Morris Endeavor to Drop Bill O’Reilly
Bill O’Reilly’s longtime book agent Eric Simonoff at William Morris Endeavor is dropping the former broadcaster for future literary representation. A WME spokesperson told CNN the agency will “no longer represent Bill O’Reilly for future deals.” They noted, “It is our fiduciary responsibility to service the existing deals we have under contract, but we will not be working with him moving forward.” The AP reports that O’Reilly still has at least one more Killing book under contract with publisher Henry Holt. On Monday O’Reilly’s longtime television agent at United Talent Agency said that they would drop him as a client at […]