Penguin Books have confirmed plans to release the official Morrissey autobiography which appeared to have been pulled at the last minute last week following a “content dispute” between the singer and publisher.
Morrissey: Autobiography was originally due for release on Monday (September 16) but a statement released last week (September 13) explained that the book will no longer be available on that date and will no longer be published by Penguin. However, in a new development in the story, Penguin have now released a statement of their own which claims that they will still release the book in the UK and Europe but not in America.
A clarification to the original story was added to the statement on Morrissey fansite True To You which reads: “The publication of Morrissey’s Autobiography remains with Penguin Books. This is a deal for the UK and Europe, but Morrissey has no contract with a publisher for the US or any other territory. As of 13 September, Morrissey and Penguin (UK) remain determined to publish within the next few weeks.”
The original statement, which you can see below, stated that Morrissey was seeking a new publisher to print the book.
The first statement read: “Although Morrissey’s Autobiography was set to be available throughout the UK on September 16, a last-minute content disagreement between Penguin Books and Morrissey has caused the venture to collapse. No review copies were printed, and Morrissey is now in search of a new publisher.”
In 2011 a spokesperson for Penguin Books said Morrissey’s forthcoming autobiography was “a classic in the making”. The publisher has said it was keen to enter discussions with the former Smiths frontman, who announced he had finished the 600-page tome that year.
During a 2011 interview with BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, Morrissey said he wanted the book to come out on the Penguin Classic series, despite the book franchise normally only ever being bestowed on already-established literary classics rather than new titles.
Over the past year Morrissey has postponed and cancelled a host of tour dates because of his mother’s and his own ill health. He recently revealed that he nearly died earlier this year due to medical problems.