The devil works hard, but Woody Allen’s literary agent works harder. The disgraced director’s autobiography, Apropos of Nothing, is out in the United States under a new publisher, Arcade, as of Monday, March 23. Per the Associated Press, financial details for the deal were not released. It comes about two weeks earlier than the original April 7 release date under Hachette Book Group, which fell through after staff protested the company’s decision to publish a book by the accused child molester. Allen’s son, Ronan Farrow similarly cut ties with Hachette, who published his own book, Catch and Kill, a nonfiction recount of his investigations into Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct. In his statement, Farrow added that his sister Dylan Farrow “had never been contacted to respond to any denial or mischaracterization of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Woody Allen.â€
“In this strange time, when truth is too often dismissed as ‘fake news,’ we as publishers prefer to give voice to a respected artist, rather than bow to those determined to silence him,†Arcade editor Jeannette Seaver said in a statement to the Associated Press. Allen also addresses the publishing switch in the postscript for the new version of the book, alleging that Hachette initially promised to publish it despite his “being a toxic pariah and menace to society.†However, he continues, “When actual flak did arrive they thoughtfully reassessed their position†and â€dumped the book like it was a hunk of Xenon 135.†Looks like they missed the shredder.