Book thief who stole more than 1,000 manuscripts 'wanted to cherish them before anyone else'

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/13/book-manuscripts-thief-margaret-atwood-sally-rooney-ian-mcewan

Book thief who stole more than 1,000 manuscripts ‘wanted to cherish them before anyone else’

Filippo Bernardini impersonated hundreds of people in the publishing industry to obtain work by Margaret Atwood, Sally Rooney and Ian McEwan, but never intended to leak the books

Sarah Shaffi
Mon 13 Mar 2023 07.30 EDT

The former publishing employee who stole manuscripts of books by Margaret Atwood, Sally Rooney and Ian McEwan has said he had a “burning desire” to feel like he was a publishing professional, and had no intention of leaking the books he stole.

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According to The Bookseller, in court papers published last week Bernardini said he never leaked the manuscripts he obtained, but “wanted to keep them closely to my chest and be one of the fewest to cherish them before anyone else, before they ended up in bookshops”.

In his statement, he felt a “special and unique connection with the author, almost like I was the editor of that book” when reading some of the manuscripts.

…more…

(Books were his only friend. Sad story but so understandable.)