STORY
Simon & Schuster is proceeding with the publication of Jason Arday’s memoir despite continuing questions about claims made by the former University of Cambridge professor and allegations concerning his academic work. Great and Unfortunate Things is scheduled for publication in the United States on 11 August and in the United Kingdom on 27 August, with the publisher continuing to promote it as an account of Arday’s journey from a non-verbal childhood to becoming Cambridge’s youngest Black professor.
Arday resigned from Cambridge after the university and Jesus College began examining questions about his qualifications, honorary appointments and published biography. He has also faced allegations that passages in his doctoral thesis resembled an earlier academic work, although Liverpool John Moores University previously concluded that he had not committed plagiarism. Arday has denied dishonesty and said his resignation was intended to protect his wellbeing and family rather than represent an admission of wrongdoing.
The Guardian reported that Arday had said Simon & Schuster paid him an advance of £1.4 million, although the currency and precise terms have not been confirmed. The publisher has declined to explain how the memoir was fact checked, stating only: “We do not comment on our editorial processes.” By continuing with publication while questions remain about parts of Arday’s public story, Simon & Schuster is placing its editorial judgement and reputation behind a book whose central claims are likely to receive intense scrutiny.