Handle with care: Publisher apologizes for fake autograph in Bob Dylan’s $600 book
The publisher of Robert Zimmerman’s bestselling children’s book “The Robert Zimmerman Collection” apologizes for the “error” and for publishing an autograph from Dylan in the book.
Michael Zuckerman, president of William Morrow and Company, expressed concern about the issue, saying in a statement, “We are deeply dismayed that the publisher of our book, Robert Zimmerman’s Bob Dylan, has sent an autograph to a reporter. We apologize for this error, and are taking it very seriously. We are in contact with Bob Zimmerman, who has given us assurances that he will be publishing a corrected copy of his book through another publisher shortly.”
Zimmerman’s publisher said on its website it has no plans to apologize.
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Zimmerman issued an apology of sorts, saying in the book, “A few years ago, I had a conversation with [Tom] Petty. He handed me a copy of his latest album, and it said ‘Author.’ I was surprised, but I put on the CD and listened. When you’re a songwriter, there are a lot of things in life that you are never supposed to know because you’re supposed to keep it secret. I knew, though, that Bob Dylan had given me a copy. He had given me an autograph. It was that he did something with the album, that got me curious enough to find his website, which I found by Googling ‘Bob Dylan autograph.'”
Dylan’s site showed that he was given permission to use Zimmerman’s image but, Dylan wrote, “I am a little ashamed that I got his autograph. I hope I can erase it from my memory for a little while.”
The Zimmerman book sold 1.8 million copies as of its June 7, 2012, release, according to Nielsen Bookscan, with reviews hailing the picture books and their author,
