The literary news is just so entertaining lately. For instance, confidence men have been targeting bookstores, posing as published authors. Yes, you read that right. In the L.A. Times (”Hoaxes hit bookstores“), Scott Timberg reports that bookstore workers have received calls from people pretending to be Mark Sarvas (Harry Revised, 2008), Eric Gower (The Breakaway Cook), Nick Hornby (Slam, 2007), Ray Bradbury (Now and Forever, 2007), and Russell Banks (The Reserve, 2007)–most of them claiming that something bad had happened to them and that they needed money wired to them right away.
Authors are often short of money, but really.
And Mark Sarvas? No offense to the always interesting Elegant Variation blogger, but he doesn’t seem like enough of a “name” to serve as the lynchpin for a con. Although I guess you might assume he needs money more than Ray Bradbury does. And Skylight Books manager Karen Slattery seems to like him:
“There is this sense that bookstores have this special relationship with authors, that they help them out. And if it had really been Mark Sarvas I definitely would have done it.”
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:12 pm
As I ran my eyes down your post, before really reading it, I thought you were making a comment on authors whose latest book made one think that someone was impersonating them. I saw the name Russell Banks- I am currently reading (listening) to The Reserve and can’t believe he’s the same person who wrote Rule of the Bone and The Sweet Hereafter.
May 5th, 2008 at 7:55 am
That would be a good list! Our reviewer, Ian Chipman, seems to agree with you about The Reserve.