Several thousand copies of Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom will be pulped in Britain following a printing error. Instead of printing the finalized manuscript, the printing company mistakenly used an older copy. UPDATE: HaperCollins UK has issued an apology about the printing mistakes.
According to The Guardian, Franzen urged fans at a London appearance to wait for the true version which will be released today. According to Franzen, the printers had opened and copied the wrong draft of the manuscript instead of the finalized one. The printing company maintains the errors were not their fault.
The Guardian reports: “The book was released in the UK earlier this week by HarperCollins; it is not yet known how many copies will have to be pulped. Franzen told the audience that all copies would be exchanged or refunded, including postage and packaging. He did not say whether copies printed in the US – originally published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in August – were affected.”
The last time GalleyCat caught up with Franzen was at his New York City bookstore appearance. More than 1,000 people waited for Franzen to read, speak, and answer questions at the event. One attendee asked the question, “Has Oprah been in touch?” She certainly has. Two weeks ago, Oprah Winfrey picked Freedom as her latest book club choice.