A Sunday Times dispatch from the Edinburgh International Book Festival had Ian Rankin telling a reporter that his wife had seen J.K. Rowling “scribbling away in a café” on “her Edinburgh criminal detective novel.” Much bloviating among the literary punditry followed, but those who said they didn’t believe it turned out to be the most astute: Rankin later told The Guardian the whole thing was a joke that got out of hand.” Oh, and it turns out that he didn’t actually tell a reporter anything at all, save to the extent that he told a reporter and about 600 other people in the room where he was speaking.