UK publishers withdraw Russell Brand books after rape conviction

Pan Macmillan and Hodder & Stoughton have withdrawn Russell Brand's books from sale after a jury at Southwark crown court convicted him on Thursday of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women. The 51-year-old comedian and author was cleared of two further counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. Judge Joel Bennathan told Brand he faces a "significant" prison sentence, and remanded him in custody ahead of sentencing on Monday.

A spokesperson for Pan Macmillan said the company was "withdrawing Russell Brand's books from sale following his conviction, and this process is under way now. We recognise the courage it took for those who came forward, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by his crimes."

Which titles are coming off the shelves?

Pan Macmillan confirmed to the Guardian that two titles are affected:

• Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions (2017)
• Mentors: How to Help and Be Helped (2019)

The publisher said it held no existing stock, because the books had not been reprinted due to a lack of demand. It declined to say whether Brand or his company would receive any further royalties from the titles, saying it does not comment on authors' income as a matter of course.

Hodder & Stoughton has also withdrawn Brand's books from sale. Brand's memoir My Booky Wook, published by Hodder, was the Christmas No 1 bestseller in 2007. HarperCollins, which published the 2010 sequel Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal, appears to have withdrawn its two Brand titles as well; the book no longer appears on the publisher's website. HarperCollins has been contacted for comment.

Canongate, which published The Pied Piper of Hamelin, a 2014 children's retelling of the fairytale illustrated by Chris Riddell, told the Guardian the book "has been out of print and unavailable in all editions (including ebook and audio) since September 2023". Revolution, Brand's 2014 political manifesto published by Century, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is also out of print, a spokesperson confirmed.

Waterstones has acted in step with the publishers. "Following confirmation from the publishers that the books are being withdrawn from sale, we have removed title listings from our website," the chain told the Guardian. "Only a handful of copies remain in shops, which will be returned to the publisher in due course."

What does this change for readers?

One Brand title remains on sale. His most recent book, How to Become a Christian in Seven Days, was published in May by Tucker Carlson Books, an imprint set up by the former Fox News host with the US publisher Skyhorse. The Guardian has approached Skyhorse for comment.

A memoir used against its author

The trial concerned allegations of sexual offences against six women between 1999 and 2009. Brand denied all the charges. Prosecutors described him as "ruthless" and "a sexual predator" who treated women as a "disposable commodity". The Metropolitan police said Brand remains under investigation over two further rape allegations.

In an unusual turn, one of Brand's own books became evidence against him. While he was giving evidence, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC confronted him with passages from My Booky Wook in which he wrote crudely about his sexual appetite and his attitudes towards women. In one extract read to the jury, Brand wrote that he would not have given up until he got his "birthright orgasm".

The £575,000 contract that collapsed

Brand's relationship with Pan Macmillan had already broken down before the verdict. He signed a £575,000 contract with the publisher in 2021 for two self-help books, through his company Pablo Diablo's Legitimate Business Firm Ltd. Neither book was ever delivered. Pan Macmillan terminated the agreement after sexual assault allegations against Brand emerged in 2023, and sued him for £220,000 in 2025.

Court documents previously reported by the Times set out the payments. Brand received £75,000 for the first book and £142,000 for the second when the contract was signed. A ghostwriter was paid £3,000 for a partial draft of the first book, written without Brand's input. The case was settled earlier this year for an undisclosed sum; Pan Macmillan told the Guardian it could not comment on the settlement for legal reasons.

The rupture extends across Brand's professional base. Pan Macmillan cut ties with him in 2023. His agency, Tavistock Wood, owned by Curtis Brown, also dropped him as a client.

The withdrawal of a Christmas No 1 memoir from sale marks one of the fastest and widest removals of a living author's catalogue by British publishers, and Monday's sentencing will determine whether Brand's remaining outlet — the Skyhorse-published title — survives as the last of his books still in print.