BUSTED! Plagiarists, Fakers & Literary Hoaxes

[Sunnyhorse]

And to not be so condescending to "normal people" in your interviews: "Oh, my view of family is soooo much broader than the average person's." Just shut the fuck up.

[Deleted]

intlschizo said:

huntergrayson said:

Suburban white girl from Sherman Oaks pretends to be gangbanger living in foster care in South Central. The best part is her "apology":

And yet, when REAL gangbangers tell their stories through prose, poetry, movies or music, they're told that they're glorifying gang culture. I guess it's only moving and harrowing when you're white and female - and have a Mammy-like character watching over you (see also: The Secret Lives of Bees). She better hope some REAL Bloods don't track her ass down.

You beat me to the punch! Also, I loved how she wanted to exploit the African-American community and make money from it but didn't even have the stomach to call herself part-black, you know? She was "part Native American!"

[Deleted]

I'm loving this thread. It's astounding to see so many authors being exposed. On one hand I feel sorry for these authors because I think they are engaging in so much fakery because the publishing world's desire for & high level of support for books or stories where characters are going through outlandish (or pathological) situations makes them do it. Minimalism is out. Readers no longer have the patience for that. So to me, these authors are mostly talented people who want to be competitive in this current environment where the top 20 books on the best seller lists are murder mysteries and true crime books and other walks on the wild side craziness. These authors are simply writing stories (or tweaking their real-world experiences) to meet the demands of the publishing market. And the publishing market is hot for these kinds of stories (books, etc.) because they sell and/or cause a sensation. On the other hand, the minimalist in me says a skilled writer can write about watching paint dry and have it be compelling.

[groovethang]

So was everything fake in that article? Is there really no weeping pit bull tattoo across her back? Who is the dude sleeping on her couch nursing a gunshot wound? A hired actor?

Now that I know she's a fraud, that article cracks me up. That she served the house cocktail, Hennessey and Coke. That the house smelled of black-eyed peas, which were stewing with pork neck bones. She really laid it on a bit thick, huh?

[intlschizo]

shubugs said:

Also, I loved how she wanted to exploit the African-American community and make money from it but didn't even have the stomach to call herself part-black, you know?

Part black isn't exotic enough, Asian would've been unbelievable (I know, I know) and Latina would've required a decent grasp of Spanish. Not enough Native Americans to cry "bullshit," so Pretendian it is!

throneoflies said:

Now that I know she's a fraud, that article cracks me up. That she served the house cocktail, Hennessey and Coke. That the house smelled of black-eyed peas, which were stewing with pork neck bones. She really laid it on a bit thick, huh?

I don't know if it cracks me up or pisses me the fuck off. Black folks are accustomed to culture vultures, but this is just ridiculous.

[Deleted]

She sounds like one of those white people who gets off on inner-city black culture. She probably likes to think of herself as homegirl from the hood and thinks because she knows some black gangbangers she's got a special insight into their lives. She may even actually have more insight than the average person but that doesn't make her part of their "family."

The most horrible thing she did, IMO, is claiming that somebody else's murdered brother was her brother. Appropriating another person's grief like that is just unforgiveable. James Frey did something similar in his book as well, claiming that he was involved in a train wreck that killed some high school acquaintances.

Here's a Slate article about publishers not vetting memoirs.

[ownlife]

LOL! I thought you guys were kidding about the neck bones.

Rya's father, she said, was "the first white guy I ever dated, and she was the first white baby I ever saw. I said, she looks sickly, is there something wrong with her?"

Gee, two white people created a white baby, what a shock. I can't believe the New York Times accepted this nonsense without question.

[huntergrayson]

From the fakery article:

Ms. Jones’s foster siblings have met with a range of fates. Her brother Terrell was killed by the Crips at 21. Her brother Taye, 36, has three children and lives in Tacoma, Wash. The last she heard, he worked for Sprint. Her youngest sister, NeeCee, killed herself three years ago. Nishia, another sister, works at a day care center in Los Angeles and braids hair on the side, but they stopped speaking several years ago after a financial dispute, Ms. Jones said.

How convenient that everyone who could corroborate the story was dead or not speaking to the author.

She sounds like one of those white people who gets off on inner-city black culture

It's especially egregious because she's a private school-educated white girl from Sherman Oaks (very suburban, very white, very conservative) -- it's basically like Marissa Cooper writing a book about being a gangbanger.

[intlschizo]

huntergrayson said:

How convenient that everyone who could corroborate the story was dead or not speaking to the author.

You would THINK that would send a red flag up in the minds of publishers. I'm sorry, but if I was a publisher and more than two of the people in your story were dead or estranged, I'd tell you that your story is too tragic for print.

*edit* I STRONGLY encourage everyone to read "A Refugee From Gangland" from beginning to end. Spot five stereotypes, win 10 bucks*! Did anybody even SEE this pit bull tattoo? I've heard of fake Navy SEALs getting tridents tattooed on them (ditto for just about any military branch) and whatnot, but if someone says they have a big ass tattoo on his/her back, the FIRST thing I'm going to say is, "Can I see it?" If the answer is ANNNNYTHING but "sure!", guess what? S/HE'S LYING! I can't believe she even sat down with the press!

*currency not valid anywhere on Earth

[BinkyBetsy]

Yeah, James Frey did the same thing. Every character in AMLP ended up either dead or unaccounted for. Every. Single. One. Which had the added bonus of making Frey look as if he was the only one who could tough it out, stay sober, and survive. Eurgh.