This Tuesday, January 10, 2023, Spare (Le Suppléant in the French version) is scheduled to be available in bookstores and on online platforms around the world … Except in Spain, where copies of the book were published on January 5 , five days before the official date! Chaos or cleverly orchestrated communication stunt?
“A very clear launch protocol has been prepared and communicated to all customers so the book will not be marketed before that date. There is every indication that some customers have breached their commitment to the publisher and put the book up for sale before the agreed date.” Attempts to justify the Plaza y Janes spokesman do nothing to change the intolerable nature of the situation.
The Barcelona-based Penguin Random House subsidiary responsible for publishing Prince Harry’s autobiographical tirades has apparently been overtaken by events. As of Thursday January 5, 2023, copies of the book, entitled En La Sombra, Dans l’ombre in Castilian, are already available, contrary to a very draconian marketing plan.
In principle, no copy of Spare was to leak before the fateful date, and only a handpicked handful of journalists had been able to glean drips of information by interviewing Harry himself. In France, as well as in the UK and US, the book is dancing at the top of Amazon’s best sellers list, while still being available for pre-order only. That means The Substitute is expected by both supporters and detractors alike as the Holy Grail of Harry and Meghan!
An expanded bookstore for Epiphany?
Of course, dealers are always supplied a week in advance so that they can prepare their setup. Under the pretext of Epiphany celebrations, when it is customary to exchange gifts, some Spanish dealers – particularly in Valencia – have claimed to have “offered” the work to some loyal buyers. To circumvent the embargo, the beneficiaries will not receive an invoice until January 10th and they have committed not to post content on social networks.
On the day of the leak, the online page of the magazine ¡ Hola! Happy to spill the beans: “We already have Prince Harry’s autobiography En la Sombra available five days before its official launch in Spain.”
This allowed journalists from the English tabloid Hello to dive into En la Sombra almost a week in advance before the first leaks were fully picked up by all the world’s royal news sites.