Mystery Book Is About BTS, Not Taylor Swift
Fervent fan speculation over the past few days fueled rumors that a Taylor Swift book was in the works — turns out, it’s a “blockbuster” memoir on K-pop powerhouse BTS.
When Flatiron Books announced that an anonymous celebrity would be releasing an untitled book in July — “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023” — Taylor Swift fans pre-ordered it in droves, skyrocketing the mystery book to No. 1 on Barnes and Noble and Amazon. On Thursday, the immediate bestseller was revealed to be by another musical juggernaut: BTS.
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The New York Times reported that the nonfiction title was actually Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS, an oral history of BTS written by journalist Myeongseok Kang. The K-pop group’s memoir will arrive July 9, a nod to a big day in the BTS history: The Army, the group’s dedicated fan base, was founded on that date, which will be the fan group’s 10th anniversary.
This project was conducted under so much secrecy that it still feels very odd to be suddenly allowed to share this, and we want to leave the surprises in the book a secret for as long as possible out of respect for ARMY, but yes, Slin, @clarehannahmary and I are its translators. pic.twitter.com/NeehXJPjAT
— Anton Hur (@AntonHur) May 11, 2023
Another anniversary will be celebrated this summer, as solo documentaries J-Hope in the Box and Suga: Road to D-Day will begin playing in theaters on June 17 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of BTS’ debut.
The U.S. edition of the book is translated by Anton Hur with Clare Richards and Slin Jung, and rings in at a formidable 544 pages and includes exclusive photographs of the band.
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