HarperCollins has been around this block before.
According to Politico, the New York Times informed HarperCollins that Ted Cruz’s new book won’t be on the best seller list because the reported sales didn’t meet the Times “standards.”
Clarifying, the Times rep Eileen Murphy told Politico that bulk sales kept Cruz’s book off the list.
I asked Times spokeswoman Denise Rhoades Ha if the Times might go back and remove some best sellers now that we know that the authors used strategic sales to elevated their position and she declined to comment. I have reported on several such books and authors including Mark Driscoll, Les and Leslie Parrott, and David Jeremiah.
Although they won’t say, I speculate that the attention given to the scams perpetrated by Christian authors in the wake of Mark Driscoll’s discovery may have made the Times tighten up their review of sales.
UPDATE: Coming late to this story, I didn’t realize Cruz and the publisher have denied the allegations. Cruz wants to see the evidence.
H/t to this tweet and this one.