A publishing industry expert told B.C. Supreme Court the author Steven Galloway’s 2015 sexual assault allegations affected the performance of his novel The Confabulist.
The Story
A publishing industry expert testified Monday that the impact of sexual assault allegations made public in 2015 diminished the performance of Steven Galloway’s subsequent novel, The Confabulist, during the ongoing defamation trial brought by the former UBC creative writing professor.
Industry veteran Kevin Hanson said the reception for Galloway’s breakthrough novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo, was “remarkable and rare,” describing it as putting the author in a “unique class.” He said the book was among the “hot books” at the London Book Fair, where he recalled that rights to the novel drew heated auctions in multiple territories.
Hanson’s testimony also addressed how publishers and courts assess potential author earnings. He produced a report estimating Galloway’s projected earnings from 2016 until his 70th birthday, and said publishers set author payments based on several factors.
Under cross-examination, a lawyer for the woman identified only as A.B., whose name is protected by a publication ban, said The Confabulist did not perform as well as Galloway’s earlier books. The defence noted that The Cellist of Sarajevo earned more than $1 million in royalties, while Galloway’s first two books and The Confabulist earned tens of thousands, and questioned Hanson’s assumptions and comparisons used to forecast damages.
The court has heard that when the allegations surfaced in November 2015, Penguin Random House Canada shelved the paperback run of The Confabulist. Hanson told the court that while there are “an infinity of possibilities,” he would say the alleged defamations had affected how The Confabulist performed.
← More stories