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Authors and Readers React to Cait Corrain’s Goodreads Scandal After Agent, Publisher Cut Ties

By Dec 11th, 2023, 7:33 pm
Social media reactions to Cait Corrain's Goodreads review bombing publishing scandal
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Last week, news broke that debut author Cait Corrain was accused of creating fake Goodreads accounts that upvoted their science fiction “romantasy” book, Crown of Starlight, while downvoting similarly-themed books and several upcoming novels in their own debut cohort. The majority of those targeted with downvotes were authors of color. When confronted, Corrain claimed that a friend they’d picked up in Star Wars fandom was the one responsible, and dug a much deeper hole with apparently doctored and altogether unconvincing “proof” of chats with said “friend.” Those impacted originally tried to resolve matters privately, but upon Corrain’s continued deflections, events bubbled up from an author Slack chat and took off on social media.

The unfolding scandal gripped the publishing and online book world for days, especially as Corrain and their agent and publishing house went silent. (Read our Alyssa Shotwell’s in-depth look at the situation here.) Finally, on December 11th, 2023, decisive action was taken in an oft-waffling industry. Corrain’s agent Rebecca Podos announced the severing of their relationship on X (formerly Twitter), and Corrain’s book is no longer the May 2024 Illumicrate pick. Save for those who received advance ARCs, it now appears that no one will read Crown of Starlight anytime in the near future, as Del Rey tweeted that the book has been removed from their 2024 publishing schedule.

Authors and readers are a chatty lot online—it goes with the love of words—and the Corrain scandal and subsequent fallout generated plenty of commentary. Tweets investigating Corrain’s alleged actions and explaining the myriad twists and turns went viral on Twitter and reddit, and BookTok has seen many videos reacting to and furthering delving into the subject. Now, in the immediate aftermath of the decisions to cut ties with Corrain, we’re collecting reactions from authors and readers. Some of the folks featured here are primary players who were affected by the Goodreads review bombing controversy, and others offer personal insight as those invested in the community. In addition to highlighting the damage Corrain did despite having their book all but set up for success, there is also discussion about ongoing toxicity behind Goodreads maneuvering and the impact it has on author/reader/book culture.

In discussing Corrain, what should emerge above all else is supporting the authors who were impacted on Goodreads and in some cases, subject to harassment and undue accusations as the situation went viral over the weekend.

The debut authors targeted by the fake Goodreads accounts were: Bethany Baptiste (The Poisons We Drink), Kamilah Cole (So Let Them Burn), Molly X. Chang (To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods), Frances White (Voyage of the Damned), and K.M. Enright (Mistress of Lies); additionally, Thea Guanzon’s The Hurricane Wars and indie author R.M. Virtues‘s Greek mythological retellings were downvoted. Preorders and orders are a beautiful thing, my friends. Let’s get clicking.

(image: John Ray Ebora/Pexels/@E_PenEbus_Unum on X)

[UPDATE 12/12/2023]: Cait Corrain has issued what they call “A sincere apology.” They further captioned the tweet, “I know this is long, but that’s because I’m trying to own and openly address every aspect of what I did.” If you read the replies to Corrain’s tweets, folks are not satisfied by the explanations given and the way that Corrain’s statement is phrased.

(image: John Ray Ebora/Pexels/@E_PenEbus_Unum on X)

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Author
Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.
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