Penguin Goes After Delinquent Authors Over Advances

The book publisher wants its money back from 12 writers who it says have not delivered. In separate suits filed last week, the Penguin Group is aiming to recover $417,333 plus interest and legal fees from the likes of Prozac Nation author Elisabeth Wurtzel (read suit here), The New Yorker’s Rebecca Mead and political blogger Ann Marie Cox (read suit here). “If the Author fails to deliver the manuscript …the Publishers shall have the right to terminate this Agreement by notice to the Author, in which event the Author shall promptly repay to the Publisher any all sums paid to the author,” read the complaints, quoting from contracts the various writers signed. The Smoking Gun first reported the legal action. Another one of the authors being sued by Penguin is Holocaust survivor Herman Rosenblat. He actually did hand in his memoir Angel At The Fence on time in 2008, but the book was cancelled when it turned out the story about how he met first met his wife in a concentration camp was false. “Because of the Defendant’s breach of the representation and warranties, Defendant never delivered a manuscript of the Books as required under the Agreement,” states that complaint. Before Rosenblat’s deception was revealed in late 2008, Oprah Winfrey had praised his story and Atlantic Overseas Pictures had optioned the memoir for what is a yet-to-be-made film. Penguin is represented by John Pelosi of New York firm Pelosi Wolf Effron & Spates.

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