Simon & Schuster will move forward with the U.K. publication of Jason Arday’s memoir despite lingering questions about elements of the late Cambridge professor’s personal story and the publisher’s review of the book.
“Great and Unfortunate Things” will be released Thursday as scheduled “in accordance with his family’s wishes,” Simon & Schuster UK told The Bookseller on Monday.
The decision provides the first definitive answer from the publisher about whether the memoir’s release would proceed following Arday’s death. Police said his death was unexpected, but was not being treated as suspicious. He was 41.
Simon & Schuster released the memoir in the United States on Aug. 11, three days before Arday’s death. The publisher did not respond to repeated questions from TheWrap last week about whether it was reassessing the book, considering corrections or asking retailers to pause additional orders.
TheWrap reported Aug. 18 that the memoir remained available through distributor Ingram Content Group and could still be ordered by independent bookstores.
Questions about aspects of Arday’s academic and personal history intensified ahead of the book’s release. He resigned from Cambridge on Aug. 5 amid scrutiny that included allegations that portions of his doctoral thesis had been plagiarized. Arday denied intentionally plagiarizing his work. No plagiarism allegations have been made concerning the memoir itself.
Simon & Schuster previously defended its handling of the book, saying Arday, co-writer Eve Claxton and its editorial and legal teams had worked together to “carefully research, write and corroborate the narrative.”
Some claims previously associated with Arday were revised or left out of the finished memoir, including details of his athletic accomplishments and charitable fundraising. Simon & Schuster did not answer TheWrap’s questions about whether concerns surrounding those claims led to the changes or what review it conducted before publication.
The book has also struggled to find a wide audience in the United States. It sold only 433 tracked print copies during its first five days, according to Circana BookScan figures obtained by TheWrap.
The controversy has also exposed broader questions about how publishers verify nonfiction books. Unlike many major magazines, book publishers do not universally conduct independent, line-by-line fact-checking of nonfiction manuscripts, as TheWrap examined Sunday in the Media Front.
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