Last week, the Times revealed that the author behind the anonymous Twitter account GSElevator, which purported to print conversations overheard on the elevator at Goldman Sachs, was one John LeFevre, who has never worked at Goldman Sachs and currently lives in Texas. Many wondered what would become of the author’s forthcoming book Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance and Excess in the World of Investment Banking, which was recently purchased by Simon & Schuster for a six-figure sum. Wonder no more: Simon & Schuster has dropped the book. And what about the advance? In an email to Publishers Weekly, LeFevry states that he would "rather give [it] to the North Shore Animal League than return it," and that if Simon & Schuster tries to reclaim the money he will sue the house "100 times over." (See more on LeFevre and his plans for the future here.)
In the opening round of the Morning News Tournament of Books, Scott McClanahan’s Hill William beat Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries (which recently won the Booker Prize). Earlier this week, McClanahan posted on Facebook that he wanted the Morning News remove his book from the competition. The tournament’s organizers denied his request.
The pilot issue of Mehmet Oz’s magazine The Good Life has sold out on newsstands.
Jack Griffin—who was forced out of his position as chief executive of Time Inc in 2011—has been hired as the head of Tribune Publishing. Griffin will oversee the difficult separation of the Tribune Company’s eight newspapers (which include the LA Times and the Chicago Tribune) from its owners’ more lucrative broadcast-media outlets.
The Believer has released the shortlist of finalists for its annual book award.
