The Left Hand of God proofs hit eBay

Manuscript proofs for one of the most hyped fantasy novels currently unpublished appear to be for sale on online auction site eBay.

Penguin reportedly bought the world-rights to a trilogy kicking off with The Left Hand of God back in October 2008, with Alex Clarke, editorial director of the company’s Michael Joseph division, promising to make the launch “one of the publishing events of 2009”, saying Hoffman’s work was a blend of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose and Harry Potter.

The book is by UK writer Paul Hoffman, who has written two previous books not in the fantasy genre, and worked as a screenwriter for some time and on films with greats like Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather and many other hits.

But although the book hasn’t been published yet, two proofs appear to be available at exhorbitant prices on eBay – for US$47.82 and US$63.56 respectively.

The eBay description for one reads:

“SPIRAL BOUND PROOF.  Penguin has acquired World rights for this 1st part of a trilogy.  Described as Name of the Rose meets Harry Potter.  Major lead title for publisher in Summer 2009.  Publisher’s letter not included”

The other is labelled an “uncorrected proof copy”.

Commentary
Shame on whoever is selling these early copies of the book on eBay. Sure, they can make a quick buck. But they’re undermining the proper publishing process and we like to think authors should be supported for their work in the normal way.