Rogues, Widows and Orphans: Mischief and Misadventures in the World of Books

Summary

A publishing industry insider reveals the hilarious and fascinating mishaps, hoaxes, and gaffes behind your favorite books.

It’s a long journey from a writer’s mind to a finished book, and a lot needs to go right along the way. But isn’t it more interesting when things go wrong?

Rebecca Lee, a senior editorial manager at Penguin Random House, guides listeners through the secrets of the book industry, a world fizzing with scandals, rivalries, catastrophes, and con jobs. Lee demonstrates how the tiniest of typos can have oversized consequences, unearths horrifying examples of bad taste and worse style, and peeks into tales of forgeries and feuds as dramatic as any thriller. She unredacts the most egregious cases of censorship, exposes hoarders and thieves, and asks whether AI is really an existential threat to the literary universe—or if we are our own worst enemies.

An irresistible tour of mistakes and misbehavior, Rogues, Widows and Orphans will make you cringe, crack you up, and renew your appreciation for the hard work of making books—and all the ways it can go sidewise.