Another Allegedly Bad Man Finds Home for His Memoir

After publishing Woody Allen’s memoir, Arcade Publishing is following its own trend in acquiring two books by Garrison Keillor, who was accused of sexual harassment in 2017. Keillor, who was fired from Minnesota Public Radio after allegations of sexual misconduct, denied inappropriate sexual contact with a woman who worked with him at MPR, claiming he only accidentally touched her back. The same woman claims Keillor did not touch her back but instead made other unwanted sexual advances in the form of touching, emails, and requests for sexual contact.

As Jezebel previously reported, Keillor told MPR News, “I’ll be able to tell my side of the story at length, in my own words, in due course, and that’s sufficient for me,” and it appears that accursed day is finally upon us. According to AP, Arcade will be publishing Keillor’s novel, The Lake Wobegon Virus, in September. That will be followed by Keillor’s memoir That Time of Year, which will be a reflection on his childhood and “a good life, including mistakes, regrets, and a few medical adventures.” The memoir will address the harassment allegations, according to AP, which will surely be nuanced in thought and not strictly a denial of bad behavior. In a statement to AP, Keillor said, “I had to address my mistakes and regrets, and I try to do it with some humor and grace.” I cannot begin to fathom the moral disconnect required to address harassment allegations with humor.

Doubling down on a strange desire to give alleged criminals a platform to deny wrongdoing, a representative from Arcade’s parent company, Skyhorse Publishing, told AP, “We don’t believe in cancel culture and take the strongest possible stance against censorship.”