Jason Arday’s memoir “Great and Unfortunate Things,” which came under much public scrutiny amidst claims of plagiarism against the ex-Cambridge professor, only sold 433 print copies in its first five days, according to Circana BookScan data provided exclusively to TheWrap.
These sales, which occurred from Aug. 11 to Aug. 15, do not include any e-book or audiobook purchases. Arday was found dead on Aug. 14.
Simon & Schuster reportedly paid “1.4 million” pounds or dollars for the memoir.
The numbers come amid a sprawling media story after Arday was accused of plagiarizing his life story, resigned from Cambridge and was found dead just days later at the age of 41. Police said his death was unexpected but was not being treated as suspicious.
Arday resigned from Cambridge on Aug. 5 amid public scrutiny over his academic and personal history. Simon & Schuster U.S. announced the next day that the company intended to move forward with publishing his memoir, which released on Aug. 11.
Simon & Schuster did not respond to several requests for comment from TheWrap on Monday asking whether it intended to halt sales on “Great and Unfortunate Things” among the death and plagiarism claims.
More to come …
