January 25, 2006

Here We Go Again: Another Faux Author?

Filed under: Corporate Outrage, Scams — TBlumer @ 9:35 am

The literary world’s January of facing cold, hard facts has just gotten a bit chillier.

First, it was James Frey (third item at link).

Then it was JT Leroy.
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Now there’s Nasdijj the Navajo:

Navahoax

Did a struggling white writer of gay erotica become one of multicultural literature’s most celebrated memoirists — by passing himself off as Native American?

Is it time to ask the publishing industry to do a bit of due diligence before it puts out nonfiction books yet?

Update, Feb. 6: The answer to the question in this post’s title is “YES”:

Mystery of author JT LeRoy ends with partner’s confession

SAN FRANCISCO: A writer that penned novels claiming to be “JT LeRoy” has now been unmasked by The New York Times as a 40-year-old San Francisco woman who claimed she rescued LeRoy from a hard life on the streets.
Laura Albert was the author behind the ruse, said Geoffrey Knoop (kuh-noop), her recently estranged partner of 16 years.

Knoop has now apologized for playing a role in the hoax. He says the stress of keeping it secret had become too much to bear.

LeRoy’s gritty novels were purported to be based on his own experiences of drug addiction, prostitution and life on the streets.

2 Comments

  1. The thing I find absolutely incredible is how long this guy got away with it, and how incredibly DISGUSTING his career before he magically turned Navajo was.

    Comment by speedothebrief — January 25, 2006 @ 10:16 am

  2. #1, The guy is a piece of work, that’s for sure.

    Comment by TBlumer — January 25, 2006 @ 10:18 am

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