Anonymous self-publishing author of Diary of an Oxygen Thief still pushing his books
Despite a deal for his first book and film rights being bought, mystery writer still happy to promote his own works
The fair-skinned man with the hoodie and dark ski cap sits on a bench outside a bookstore in downtown Manhattan, where neither patrons nor employees seem aware that he’s the author of a work so in demand at the store that it’s often out of stock.
Known to his growing fan base as “Anonymous,” he has provided one of the more unusual self-published successes: Diary of an Oxygen Thief, a 147-page fictionalised memoir, or autobiographical novel, depending on how much of this story of a recovering alcoholic and the damage he has inflicted and absorbed you care to believe.
“It has an unusual negative space,” says the author, who on email uses the names Tom Wilkinson and Stanley Easyday, and prefers to be identified as O2Thief. “It couldn’t be more naked, but at the same time ... ‘Who the hell is it?’ I think it’s a very powerful place to write.”
Some books catch on immediately, others take their time, but Oxygen Thief has really followed the scenic route. First published by the author in 2006, the book has slipped on and off the charts ever since, apparently dependent on the occasional tweet or other online comment.
Oxygen Thief has been such a home-grown operation that the author not only served as his own editor and cover designer, but has also sold the book in the streets and would personally ship it to retailers, sometimes taking on orders for thousands of copies.
His workload is about to lighten. This year, Oxygen Thief cracked the top 20 on both Amazon and iTunes, enough to interest literary agent Byrd Leavell and eventually a publisher, Gallery Books, a pop culture imprint of Simon & Schuster that plans to release an e-edition soon and a paper version in mid-June. Film rights have been acquired by Gotham Group.