About this blog

Left to right: Norma Khouri, James Frey, Asa Carter, J. T. Leroy, Helen Demidenko-Darville.

Published Pranks is a blog about famous literary frauds of the 21st century, focusing on controversial works purported to be true stories and that are sometimes referred to as "misery lit".

The genre "misery lit" is a recent phenomena and can be biographical, autobiographical or fictional works which traces the protagonist’s life of personal trauma. Themes often include drug or alcohol abuse, sexual abuse and violence. 

This blog will be focusing on memoirs in this genre.
Each title has been listed alphabetically by Author's surname - the surname in which the book was published, regardless of whether it was a fake name or pseudonym. 

Published Pranks has been created by the reader's advisory team at UTS Library as a readers advisory resource for students of Journalism, Media and Creative Writing. It includes book lists with bibliographical information, promotional activities and links to literature websites.