Presumed publisher remains tight-lipped with no sign of singer's autobiography in booksellers' warehouses
Mystery continues to surround the publication of Morrissey's autobiography as the unpredictable former frontman of The Smiths used his True-To-You fansite to put out a statement claiming that Penguin UK "remain determined to publish within the next few weeks". It followed the claim last week that his publishing deal had collapsed due to "a last-minute content disagreement".
The website, which is run from the US but has close links with the singer, said: "The publication of Morrissey's Autobiography remains with Penguin Books. This is a deal for the UK and Europe, but Morrissey has no contract with a publisher for the US or any other territory.
"As of 13 September, Morrissey and Penguin (UK) remain determined to publish within the next few weeks."
The story was picked up by the New Musical Express, which said Penguin itself had said it was about to publish.
However, the claim has caused bemusement in book trade circles. The brouhaha that would usually accompany such a hotly-anticipated autobiography has been noticeable by its absence; there has been no pre-publication publicity material, no review copies, and as yet, no distribution of printed copies to bookshops. Staff at Waterstones, the UK's largest high street chain, have heard nothing about the book.
More baffling still, there is no record of a book deal between Moz and Penguin UK ever having been signed. Morrissey first began hawking his autobiography in 2011, when he told BBC Radio 4's Front Row that he had written a 660-page book, saying: "I'm really not that interesting, so I don't know why I've written so much." He said he hoped to publish it as a Penguin Classic.
Penguin's Modern Classics was started in 1961 by an editor who believed that contemporary works could measure up to more time-honoured tomes. As Morrissey may have noted, the imprint is reserved for books that have "caused scandal and political change, inspired great films, and broken down barriers, whether social, sexual, or in the case of Ulysses, the boundaries of language itself". It counts among its output F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
Penguin is remaining tight-lipped, confirming only that it has released no statements one way or the other. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.
Mystery continues to surround the publication of Morrissey's autobiography as the unpredictable former frontman of The Smiths used his True-To-You fansite to put out a statement claiming that Penguin UK "remain determined to publish within the next few weeks". It followed the claim last week that his publishing deal had collapsed due to "a last-minute content disagreement".
The website, which is run from the US but has close links with the singer, said: "The publication of Morrissey's Autobiography remains with Penguin Books. This is a deal for the UK and Europe, but Morrissey has no contract with a publisher for the US or any other territory.
"As of 13 September, Morrissey and Penguin (UK) remain determined to publish within the next few weeks."
The story was picked up by the New Musical Express, which said Penguin itself had said it was about to publish.
However, the claim has caused bemusement in book trade circles. The brouhaha that would usually accompany such a hotly-anticipated autobiography has been noticeable by its absence; there has been no pre-publication publicity material, no review copies, and as yet, no distribution of printed copies to bookshops. Staff at Waterstones, the UK's largest high street chain, have heard nothing about the book.
More baffling still, there is no record of a book deal between Moz and Penguin UK ever having been signed. Morrissey first began hawking his autobiography in 2011, when he told BBC Radio 4's Front Row that he had written a 660-page book, saying: "I'm really not that interesting, so I don't know why I've written so much." He said he hoped to publish it as a Penguin Classic.
Penguin's Modern Classics was started in 1961 by an editor who believed that contemporary works could measure up to more time-honoured tomes. As Morrissey may have noted, the imprint is reserved for books that have "caused scandal and political change, inspired great films, and broken down barriers, whether social, sexual, or in the case of Ulysses, the boundaries of language itself". It counts among its output F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
Penguin is remaining tight-lipped, confirming only that it has released no statements one way or the other. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.