If you know anything about books then you know the age old expression of “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Well no matter how much this saying has been ingrained in our heads people still judge books and even authors by their looks. 

Tired of these superficial judgements, author R.F. Kuang took this idea of external critique and flipped it upside down. “Yellowface” published in May of 2023 follows the insanity that ensues when a white author tries to publish the work of a POC under a new “more asian” sounding name.

While this may sound like an exceptional idea for a work of fiction, the themes of the story are anything but. In fact, they are reality. 

As we celebrate April Fools it is important to remember that pranksters and hoaxes are not limited to clingwrap in the doorway or your friend convincing you their second cousins with Taylor Swift. Instead these jesters can be found in all walks of life and can sometimes have darker intentions. Even authors can fall victim to taking a prank too far. Below is a list of some of the most expansive and awe-inducing literary hoaxes. 

The Cottingley Fairies (1917)

We are often told fairies and sprites find themselves living within our gardens, just out of sight. On rare occasions, they can be seen by those who they deem worthy. At the start of the summer in 1917, cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths claimed that this very phenomenon happened to them, and not only that, that these fairies were willing to be photographed. As these images surfaced and gained notoriety, in 1920 Arthur Conan Doyle wrote an article about this incredible moment. Claiming that these photographs were indisputable evidence to the supernatural creator’s existence, they also supported his Spiritualist views. In 1983 Wright and Griffiths admitted to the hoax, explaining that using Elsie’s father’s photography equipment, they were able to use cut out figures to make it seem as though the fairies were dancing around them in the garden. This fantastical fairy incident proves that one should always do their research before reporting on a story.

“I, Libertine” (1956)

In 1956, American writer and radio host Jean Shepherd was complaining about the rise of the bestseller list and its impact on reader’s abilities to think for themselves. Wanting to prank the public, Shepard convinced his listeners to go into their local bookstores to request a novel that did not exist, “I, Libertine”. The hoax gained so much attention that eventually the novel was actually in high demand, not only proving Shepherd’s point, but resulting in him co-authoring the real version of the novel with Theodore Sturgeon. 

“Go Ask Alice” (1971) 

In 1971 self proclaimed editor and psychotherapist Beatrice Sparks struck gold when she happened upon a diary of a young girl. Alice, who died shortly after trying LSD and other drugs, supposedly wrote about her experiences before her death. Wanting to let the public know about the effects of these drugs, Sparks published the diary. Soon after, the book was discovered to be completely fictional, filled with mis-information and harmful assumptions. Still not well-known to the public today, Sparks’ hoax can be found in bookstores with the author’s name now written out as ‘anonymous’. Not only are the novel’s twisted lies harmful for those who are learning about the effects of these drugs, but can be harmful for families and loved ones who have gone through similar situations. 

Araki Yasusada (1991) 

Poetry is a beautiful way to speak to the hauntingly disturbing things that can happen in everyday life. In 1990, the “American Poetry Review” and many other literary journals published poems by “Araki Yasusada” who had survived the bombing of Hiroshima or so they thought. With no photos, documents or records on Yasusada and numerous bouts of misinformation within his poems, the “Lingua Franca” magazine later exposed these poems of not only being fake, but written by a made up poet. While it is still not completely known as to who the real poet was, it is believed to have been the white American poet Kent Johnson who died in 2022. Not only do these fictional retellings pass off as truth take away from the horrors real survivors faced, these words diminish their experiences and draw attention away from their own harrowing truths. 

“A Million Little Pieces” (2003)

One of the more recent literary hoaxes, James Frey released his memoir “A Million Little Pieces” in 2003. Speaking to his experiences with drug and alcohol addiction as well as how he was able to grow as a person in rehab, the book immediately gained popularity and was even chosen for Oprah’s Book Club. Shortly after its uptick in popularity “The Smoking Gun” exposed Frey’s memoir for having gaps in truth, leading Frey to admit to having embellished a lot of the story’s central plot points. Now described as a work of ‘semi-fiction’ the whole controversy resulted in a 2018 film which garnered a 27% on rotten tomatoes. 

R.F. Kuang said it best in “Yellowface”: “People come to a text with so many prejudices formed by what they think they know about the author. I sometimes wonder how my work would be received if I pretended to be a man, or a white woman. The text could be exactly the same, but one might be a critical bomb and the other a resounding success. Why is that?”

Literary hoaxes are anything but fictional and so is this way of thinking. Today there are still thousands of authors who are overlooked because of the color of their skin, or thought to have it easier because of “woke” culture taking jobs away from “more deserving” people. Each of these works of literature used another person’s experiences or appearance to gain noteworthy for themselves. Taking instead of uplifting. 

 These issues are not jokes, but rather an opportunity to uplift voices that need to be heard and stories that need to be told. As we celebrate April Fools, it is important to remember that some hoaxes may go too far even within the literary world.