Simon & Schuster Proceeds with Jason Arday Memoir Amid Plagiarism Controversy
Despite resigning from Cambridge University due to plagiarism accusations, Simon & Schuster is set to publish Jason Arday's memoir, 'Great and Unfortunate Things.' At 37, Arday is the youngest Black professor at Cambridge and has secured a £1.4 million advance for this book, which he co-authored with Eve Claxton. The memoir chronicles his journey from being diagnosed with autism at age three to achieving literacy by 18. He stepped down on Wednesday, citing the effects of media attention. Following a report by the Telegraph highlighting similarities between his PhD and another thesis, Cambridge is reviewing his credentials. Simon & Schuster announced the book's release on August 11 in the US and August 27 in the UK, supporting their partnership with Arday and recognizing Iman M'Fah-Traoré's role in fact-checking.
Key facts
- Simon & Schuster will publish Jason Arday's memoir 'Great and Unfortunate Things' on August 11 in the US and August 27 in the UK.
- Arday resigned from Cambridge University on Wednesday night amid plagiarism and embellishment allegations.
- Arday claimed he was paid £1.4 million (or $1.4 million) for the memoir in a pre-empt deal.
- The memoir recounts Arday's life from autism diagnosis at age three to becoming the youngest Black professor at Cambridge at 37.
- The Telegraph reported over 100 passages of Arday's PhD had similarities to a thesis published six years earlier.
- Arday appeared to have falsely claimed publication of 'Being Young, Black and Male: Challenging the Dominant Discourse'.
- Simon & Schuster US confirmed it is 'proceeding with the publication as planned.'
- Arday is scheduled to speak at Topping bookshop in Edinburgh in September and Stroud book festival in November.
Entities
Artists
- Jason Arday
- Eve Claxton
- Iman M'Fah-Traoré
- Benjamin Ryan
- Claudine Gay
- Raynor Winn
- Moth Winn
Institutions
- Simon & Schuster
- Simon & Schuster US
- Simon & Schuster UK
- Cambridge University
- University of Cambridge
- Liverpool John Moores University
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Washington Free Beacon
- The Guardian
- The Telegraph
- Bookseller
- Topping bookshop
- Stroud book festival
- Penguin
- Harvard University
Locations
- Cambridge
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Edinburgh
- Scotland
- Stroud
- England