Unauthorized biography explained

An unauthorized biography sometimes called a kiss-and-tell, or a tell-all, is a biography written without the subject's permission or input. The term is usually restricted to biographies written within the subject's lifetime or shortly after their death; as such, it is not applied to biographies of historical figures written long after their deaths.

Objectivity

Unauthorized biographies may be considered more objective but less detailed than other biographies, because they are not subject to the subject's (subjective) approval (and therefore may contain accurate information that the subject would not have authorized), but are also not privy to information or corrections known only to the subject or the subject's close friends and family.

Legality

The subjects of unauthorized biographies are almost always public figures. Rarely do public figures succeed in preventing the release of unauthorized biographies. Unauthorized biographies of people who are not deemed public figures may be considered violations of the right to privacy and subject to legal action. As Ted Schwarz (1992) writes:

Speaking of U.S. courts, Lloyd Rich (2002) writes:

The legality of unauthorized biographies varies by country. Brazil enacted a short-lived law in 2014 requiring permission from biographies' subjects before publication.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Reception

Unauthorized biographies are not necessarily unwelcomed by their subjects, and in fact some unauthorized biographies have been criticized for displaying overeager admiration for them;^{[4] [5]} however, unauthorized biographies have a wider reputation for fueling controversy and painting unflattering portraits of their subjects.

While unauthorized biographies often receive significant news coverage, their writers tend to face "media disdain" due to the perception that their work is gossipy, voyeuristic, and busybodyish.

For a period in the early 1990s, a number of independent publishers — including Revolutionary Comics and Personality Comics^[6] — found great success and sales of unauthorized comic book biographies. One publisher claimed that not all its biographies were unauthorized, stating that "DeForest Kelley... and Kim Basinger had sent autographed copies of their biographies, and... Walter Koenig... had edited his."^[7] However, a number of these companies later faced legal challenges to their publications,^{[8] [9]} which resulted in the unauthorized comic book biography fad dying down.

References

Bibliography

• Encyclopedia: Berger . Sidney E. . Unauthorized Edition . The Dictionary of the Book: A Glossary for Book Collectors, Booksellers, Librarians, and Others . 2016 . Rowman & Littlefield . Lanham, Maryland . 9781442263406 .
• Bilder . Mary Sarah . 1991 . The Shrinking Back: The Law of Biography . Stanford Law Review . 43 . 2 . 299–360. 1228926 . 10.2307/1228926 .
• Book: Couser, G. Thomas . 2004 . Vulnerable Subjects: Ethics and Life Writing . Ithaca, New York . Cornell University Press . 9780801488634 .
• Web site: Goodall . Reece . The Problems of Unauthorised Biographies . 2018 . . May 4, 2019 .
• Web site: Hare . Breeanna . The Anatomy of an Unauthorized Tell-all . 2010 . . May 4, 2019 .
• Encyclopedia: Hoberman . Ruth . Biography: General Survey . Encyclopedia of Writing: Autobiographical and Biographic Forms . 2001 . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers . London . 9781136787447 .
• Web site: Kelley . Kitty . Kitty Kelley . Unauthorized, But Not Untrue: The Real Story of a Biographer in a Celebrity Culture of Public Denials, Media Timidity, and Legal Threats . 2010 . . May 4, 2019 .
• News: Klems . Brian A. . The Difference Between Authorized and Unauthorized Biographies . 2009 . . May 4, 2019 .
• Manis . Jerome G. . 1994 . What Should Biographers Tell?: The Ethics of Telling Lives . Biography . 17 . 4 . 386–395. 23539590 . 10.1353/bio.2010.0308 . 145234588 .
• Web site: Margolis . Jonathan . Rewriting the Rules on Unauthorised Biographies . 2010 . .
• Encyclopedia: Reitz . Joan . Unauthorized biography . Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science . 2014 . .
• News: Rich . Lloyd L. . 2002 . Publication of an Unauthorized Biography . Publishing Law Center .
• Rollyson . Carl . 1997 . God Bless Kitty Kelley; or, Biography High and Low . Biography . 20 . 2 . 203–208. 23539833 . 10.1353/bio.2010.0042 . 162229802 .
• Encyclopedia: Schwarz . Ted . Unauthorized biography . Writing A to Z . 1992 . F & W Publications, Inc . 9780898795561 .
• Web site: Scott . Janny . For Unauthorized Biographers, the World Is Very Hostile. 1996 . . May 4, 2019 .
• Encyclopedia: Stall . Sam . Harry . Lou . Spalding . Julia . Unauthorized Biographies . The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures: 1,001 Things You Hate to Love . 2004 . Quirk Books . Philadelphia . 9781931686549 .
• Web site: Thikkavarapu . Prashant . Rescuing Unauthorised Biographies . 2014 . thehoot.org . May 4, 2019 .
• Web site: Unauthorised Biographies . 2011 . Something About the Law . May 4, 2019 .
• Web site: Usborne . David . Fact or Fiction?: The Incredible World of Kitty Kelley . 2006 . . May 4, 2019 .
• Web site: Usman . Yasser . The Lives of Others . 2018 . . May 4, 2019 .
• Web site: Vincent . Isabel . Isabel Vincent . The Unauthorized Biographer's Challenge . 2010 . . May 4, 2019 .
• Web site: Waweru . Nduta . Kenya: Thorny Issue of Unauthorised Biographies . 2014 . . May 4, 2019 .

See also

• Shock value
• Doomscrolling
• Non-fiction

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marques . Simone . Brazil's Banned Biographies: When Public Figures Want to Control the Message . 2014 . X Index . May 4, 2019 . May 5, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190505055415/https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/07/forbidden-books-brazil-biographies-law-can-put-end-previous-censorship-may-bring-post-censorship/ . live .
2. Web site: Brazil Ends Controversial Ban on Unauthorised Biographies . 2015 . . May 4, 2019 . 2019-05-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190529200251/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-11/brazil-ends-ban-on-unauthorised-biographies/6538710 . live .
3. Web site: Brazil Overturns 'Ban' on Unauthorised Biographies . 2015 . . May 4, 2019 . May 5, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190505053907/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-33092309 . live .
4. Peck . Gustav . 1950 . Review: John L. Lewis: An Unauthorized Biography . The American Political Science Review . 44 . 4 . 1019–1021 . 1951307 . 10.2307/1951307 . 148313318 .
5. Widmer . Kingsley . Kingsley Widmer . 1979 . Review: Always Merry and Bright: The Life of Henry Miller – An Unauthorized Biography by Jay Martin . Criticism . 21 . 3 . 279–281 . 23102638 .
6. News: Pacific Comics: The Inside Story, plus RIP Rocketeer Creator, Comics & Censorship. Jay Allen. Sanford. April 21, 2008. San Diego Reader. Naturally, a slew of cheesy and downright sh-tty 'biographical' comics flooded the market from competitors [of [[Rock 'N' Roll Comics]]]. Boneyard, Rock Fantasy, Personality (AKA Friendly, Celebrity and later Pop...), First Amendment Press, and others tried to hop on the bandwagon....|access-date=February 14, 2023|archive-date=February 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214032340/https://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/apr/21/pacific-comics-the-inside-story-plus-rip-rocketeer/|url-status=live.
7. News: To Succeed in Publishing, an Idea and a Dream. Liza N.. Burby. July 19, 1992. The New York Times. 177. February 14, 2023. February 13, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230213061043/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/19/nyregion/to-succeed-in-publishing-an-idea-and-a-dream.html?searchResultPosition=1. live.
8. New Kids On The Block Sue Revolutionary. The Comics Journal. 136. July 1990. 17.
9. News: Joe Montana Suit Settled. The Comics Journal. 168. May 1994. 38–39.