While Prince Harry’s autobiography is not due to appear until January 10, copies ended up in Spanish bookstores, before being quickly withdrawn.
It was one of publishing’s best-kept secrets. An exit as well orchestrated as that of a Harry Potter or a Fifty Shades of grey. However, Thursday, January 5, five days before the official worldwide release of the SubstitutePrince Harry’s autobiography ended up on the shelves of some bookstores in Spain.
However, everything had been organized so that this did not happen. “Deliveries to bookstores would have been scheduled at the last minute to prevent unauthorized copies from being leaked,” said a journalist from the DailyMail. Sites under surveillance around the world have been secured to accommodate copies of the book before its distribution.
Massive leaks
Ruining a well-oiled marketing campaign – newspapers like the Guardian aired short, striking extracts on Wednesday, and the prince distills some information himself in interviews from which selected passages are aired – the Spanish copies of the Substituteallowed massive leaks.
Many Internet users have thus published on Twitter, images of the book, enthroned in good place in bookstores.
“Some bookstores mistakenly put the book on sale this Thursday, five days before the date indicated by the publisher, and some copies, it is not known how many, have been sold and some of their buyers are showing them off on social networks” , writes the daily El Paísthis Friday.
The fault of Epiphany, a period when people traditionally give each other gifts and when commercial activity is therefore intense. The Spanish newspaper cites a source at Penguin, the British publisher of the book translated into 16 languages.
“The error is likely due to all the hustle and bustle around Epiphany, with extra staff being hired for Christmas, the warehouse packed and the intense movement of books.”
“We just received this today, said the assistant of a Barcelona bookshop to a journalist from the DailyMail. It was the only new book. There was no indication that we couldn’t put it on sale before a certain date, so we put it on sale today.”
According to the printer, quoted by El País, the instructions were clearly written on the boxes containing the books. The quack is so complete that we do not know how many bookstores have put it on sale, or how many copies have been sold.
In any case, this has not escaped the notice of British tabloids like the Sun where the DailyMail, who rushed on the Iberian copies to feed their articles. the Telegram thus indicates having obtained a copy of the book in Valence.
Defloration and cocaine
Journalist Graham Keeley, correspondent for several Anglo-Saxon newspapers and magazines, including the DailyMail, found his in Barcelona. “Glory, finally! I found Harry’s book in Spain, which was listed for sale by mistake,” he tweeted. He also explains that he obtained the book “before it was removed from the shelves”.
El Pais also indicates that the booksellers were “warned of their error” and quickly “removed the product”. Copies of the Substitute thus found their way back to warehouses until January 10.
But the damage is done. Since Thursday, the British media have been making a feast of the revelations of the “principle” Harry, as he is called on the other side of the Pyrenees. And there is no shortage of them. Harry keeps quiet, from his deflowering to his experience of cocaine, and his “exploits” in Afghanistan.
