Australian bookshops threatened with legal action over Ronan Farrow book

Monday, 14 October 2019 Books+Publishing

An Australian journalist has threatened legal action over the publication of investigative reporter Ronan Farrow’s new book, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Former Channel Seven sports reporter Dylan Howard, who went on to work in the US tabloid media, has sent legal warnings to Australian bookshops and Farrow’s Australian publisher Hachette, over Farrow’s book Catch and Kill, which is published tomorrow.

Howard’s Australian solicitor, Andrew Thorpe, said that Howard ‘apprehends the book will contain content defamatory of him, by reasons of disclosures made to our client’s US attorney by at “fact checker” working for Mr Farrow or the publisher’. Thorpe added: ‘If, despite warnings to the contrary, the author and publisher decide to release the book in Australia and if the book contains defamatory imputations against our client, then a legal action will be launched by our client against the author, the publisher and any distributors, seeking damages.’

The SMH reports that two booksellers—a national online bookseller and an independent Sydney shop—have received letters from Howard’s lawyers.

A spokeswoman for the publisher said: ‘Little, Brown Book Group will be publishing Catch and Kill on 15th October as planned and has no further comment.’

Category: Local news