Cait Corrain review bombing controversy
The Cait Corrain review bombing controversy involves fantasy author Cait Corrain who, in late 2023, had an upcoming book deal cancelled after it was revealed they created multiple fake accounts on the Goodreads website to "review bomb" other authors.[1]
Details
Cait Corrain was a debut author in the fantasy genre, with their novel Crown of Starlight scheduled to come out in 2024 through Del Rey, a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House.[2] They had been posting negative Goodreads against authors whose works were also to be released in 2024, in an attempt to boost their profile while lowering that of competing debut authors'. These same accounts were also used to upvote Corrain's own work.[3] when Corrain was first noticed to have been using multiple accounts to post negative reviews (with some accounts created in 2022 for this purpose).[1]
Corrain initially blamed another person, "Lilly", for the review bombing, posting screenshots of a purported confession as evidence[4]. Corrain later admitted to faking the screenshots afted obvious erroswere pointed out, , such as inconsistent dates and formatting, as well as a complete lack of evidence that "Lilly" existed online prior to the screenshots. [5]
Several authors noted that Corrain's fake reviews primarily targeted debut authors of color.[6]
Corrain's book deal with Del Rey was cancelled the week of December 12, with their agent also no longer representing them.[2] Corrain has since issued an apology, citing their struggles with mental health and substance abuse as the reason for their actions.[1]
Users of the Goodreads website have pointed out how easy it has become to weaponize the site and post negative reviews, to the detriment of others.[1][7] Since the issue was made public, Corrain's Goodreads profile has seen a sharp increase in negative reviews for their works, with users citing the controversy in their review.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d Alter, Alexandra (December 13, 2023). "She 'Review Bombed' Other Writers. Then Her Book Got Pulled". New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ a b "Writer admits to 'review bombing' other authors' books, then has own novel cancelled". Associated Press. December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ a b Yang, Angela (December 13, 2023). "A first-time author lost a book deal after they were accused of trying to sabotage reviews of other authors". NBC News. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Lowe, Lindsay (2023-12-15). "Cait Corrain And The Goodreads Review Bombing Contoversy, Explained". www.today.com. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
- ^ How an author’s pettiness destroyed her career: review bombing, Reylos, and 30+ pages of receipts, retrieved 2023-12-18
- ^ Haile, Nardos (2023-12-13). ""Review bombing" and lost book deals: The Goodreads scandal explained". Salon. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ Zornosa, Laura (December 13, 2023). "An Author Review Bombed Books on Goodreads. Then Her Debut Book Was Dropped". Time magazine. Retrieved December 13, 2023.