Hi Dan,

 

Thanks for this proposal; I’ve read and can certainly see the appeal here (and must confess to being newly in awe of, and a little scared of, Anonymous) but there’s so much about _what_ these guys do, and so little about _why_, that I was left feeling that the book is really going to work best as a sort of nuts-and-bolts narrative that will reveal a lot, and certainly get attention, but also appeal most of all to insiders or people in the tech, legal, and political communities who want most of all to know just how an entity like Anonymous works.  So, I worry that the audience may well be pretty circumscribed, relevant as these issues are (and keeping in mind that internet books are a tough sell in general), such that I just don’t think we’d have the zeal to publish this properly. 

 

So, I’d best pass, but am happy at the interest you’re receiving, and have no doubt you’ll find an excellent home for this.

All best,

Will

 

 

Hey, Will—

 

Don’t know if you had a chance to look at that ANONYMOUS proposal I sent you last week, but there’s interest in meeting with Gregg Housh and Barrett Brown and talking about various directions the book might take.  Looks like they’ll be in town a week from now, Monday and Tuesday, Sept 19 / 20.  

 

Is it too early to know, or do you think you might be interested in sitting down with them?  (A phone chat’s always an option too, of course.)

 

Meanwhile, don’t know if you saw it, but in Vanity Fair’s annual media movers-and-shakers rankings (this month) the first listing in “The Anti-Establishment” category is, of course, Anonymous:

 

“The world’s pre-eminent hactivist affinity group has waged holy cyber-war on a laundry list of Establishment brands, including PayPal, MasterCard, and Visa—rallying to the defense of their mother ship, WikiLeaks.  And no matter how many neckbearded I.T. guys the feds round up, it seems the “Anons”—a border-less, leader-less, ever expanding army of techno-vigilantes, misanthropic pranksters, human-rights crusaders, and free-speech absolutists—are here to stay.  In mid-July, some Anons took on the ultimate Establishment target, vowing to “kill” almighty Facebook on November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day).  As their slogan warns, they are legion, they do not forgive, and they do not forget.  If you mess with the little guy, expect them.”

 

Let me know if there’s a chance you might want to meet next week, will you?  Thanks.

 

-Dan

 

Literary Agent

Writers House

(212) 696-3825