Ronan Farrow dumps 'unprofessional' publisher over Woody Allen memoir

Journalist and author Ronan Farrow has parted ways with his publisher after news that it had acquired the rights to his father Woody Allen's upcoming memoir, set to hit bookshelves in April 2020.

It's been reported that Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, had acquired Apropos of Nothing in March 2019, despite renewed attention to Dylan Farrow's accusations against Allen in recent months. She claims she was molested by Allen in 1992 when she was seven. She said Hachette's decision to publish the memoir was "deeply upsetting" and a "betrayal".

Farrow, in a lengthy statement shared on Twitter, expressed disappointment with Hachette's decision, which he said was “concealed” from him and “its employees” while they were working on his book Catch and Kill.

“Hachette did not fact check the Woody Allen book. My sister Dylan has never been contacted to respond to any denial or mischaracterisation of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Woody Allen - a credible allegation, maintained for almost three decades, backed up by contemporaneous accounts and evidence.

“It's wildly unprofessional in multiple obvious directions for Hachette to behave this way. But it also shows a lack of ethics and compassion for victims of sexual abuse, regardless of any personal connection or breach of trust here.”

Farrow went on to say he'd told Hachette that he could not “in good conscious” work with a publisher that conducted itself in that way.

Also reacting to this was Dylan, who released a statement expressing her disappointment over the decision to release the controversial memoir.

“Hachette's publishing of Woody Allen's memoir is deeply upsetting to me personally and an utter betrayal of my brother [Ronan Farrow] whose brave reporting, capitalised on by Hachette, gave voice to numerous survivors of sexual assault by powerful men.

“For the record, I was never contacted by any fact checkers to verify the information in this 'memoir,' demonstrating an egregious abdication of Hachette's most basic responsibility,” she explained.

Apropos of Nothing was first rejected by several publishing houses in the wake of the #MeToo movement, when the allegations against Allen resurfaced.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker was close to reaching a multimillion-dollar publishing deal with Penguin in 2003, with The New York Times reporting that Allen had held out for more money.

Hachette described the memoir as “a comprehensive account of Allen's life, both personal and professional,” in which the 84-year-old director chronicles “his work in films, theatre, television, nightclubs, and print”, as well as “his relationships with family, friends, and the loves of his life”.

Apropos of Nothing will be released in the US, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, and Spain as well as other countries on April 7.