Two weeks after Swedish media reported on allegations from 18 women of sexual assault and harassment by Jean-Claude Arnault, the artistic director and co-owner of a prominent cultural organization called Forum – Current Place of Culture (but referred to in Sweden as The Club), a new story alleges that he leaked the winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature in advance on multiple occasions. Arnault’s wife and co-owner of Forum Katarina Frostenson Arnault is a member of the Swedish Academy. Dagens Nyheter reports that the Academy has retained law firm Hammarskiöld & Co. to “investigate each member’s ties to [Mr. Arnault], and if […]
Legal
Emma Cline and Ex-Boyfriend Sue Each Other Over Plagiarism Claims
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 […]
Former Students File Title IX Complaints Against Author and UVA Professor John Casey
Two former University of Virginia students have filed Title IX complaints against author and creative writing professor John Casey, alleging incidents of sexual harassment and asserting that he created a hostile environment for female students. The University is investigating the two complaints, both filed earlier this month. University spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn said, “The university takes seriously any report of sexual harassment and is investigating this matter in accordance with its applicable policy and procedures.” 2014 MFA graduate Emma Eisenberg filed her complaint November 11, saying Casey “repeatedly touched” her and other female students in public, and commented inappropriately on […]
Skyhorse Employees to Vote on Unionizing This Week
The recent wave of unionization by media companies is now encompassing book publishing. Approximately 60 Skyhorse Publishing employees will vote November 30 on whether to join United Auto Workers Local 2110, the NY Daily News reported. Local 2110 is the same union that The New Press joined in 2001 — the last book publisher to unionize — and also includes some HarperCollins employees. (You can view the most recent Harper collective bargaining agreement here.) The bargaining unit, led by copyeditor Terry Buck, said that unionizing will lead to better health benefits, more overtime, lighter workloads, and better diversity hiring goals. […]
Briefs: Collusion Book, HBG Buys Meadowbrook, and More
Forthcoming Foreign correspondent for the Guardian Luke Harding’s Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House publishes in 10 countries on November 16, with Guardian Faber releasing in the UK and Vintage publishing in the US, as a $16.95 trade paperback. The book focuses the “the gripping inside story” of the dossier compiled by former MI6 officer Christopher Steele in 2016, but promises to add “exclusive new material and key sources from the intelligence community.” It is based on conversations with people close to Steele and draws on a wide range of sources in the US and UK. The book […]
Court Denies Restraining Order to Block Allan Say’s Children’s Book About James Castle
Earlier this month, the estate of primitive artist James Castle filed suit against author and illustrator (and Caldecott medalist) Allan Say and his publisher Scholastic, seeking a restraining order to block publication of the forthcoming book, SILENT DAYS, SILENT DREAMS. The suit takes issue with 28 of the approximately 150 illustrations in the book, which “are Say’s own depictions of various events in Castle’s life, drawn in a style similar to that of Castle.” Calling them “virtually identical copies of James Castle’s distinctive, singular works,” the suit alleges copyright infringement. Idaho District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled quickly after […]