The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World

Acknowledgments

The Real Lolita has a single author—me—but could not have been written or published without the input, advice, support, and sounding board of many people, in ways large and small. This odyssey began when Jordan Ginsberg, editor-in-chief at Hazlitt, replied to my March 2014 article pitch about Sally Horner’s kidnapping: “Just brought this up in our editorial meeting, and it got one of the fastest and most enthusiastic ‘yes’ votes I’ve heard in a while.” Eight months later, in great part to Jordan’s editorial vision, the piece was published and changed the course of my professional life. Much has transpired in the intervening four years, and I remain thrilled that it all began at Hazlitt. Additional thanks to senior editor Haley Cullingham, whom I have loved working with and hope to do so again soon.

Transforming Sally Horner’s story from a magazine piece to a book was equal parts challenging, exhilarating, exhausting, and rewarding. Shana Cohen offered invaluable feedback on the first rounds of book proposal drafts. My agent, David Patterson, has been a brilliant advocate and champion of this project, as has the entire team at the Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency, particularly Aemilia Phillips, Hannah Schwartz, Ross Harris, and Stuart Krichevsky. Thanks also to my UK agent, Jane Finigan at Lutyens & Rubinstein.

My wonderful editors, Zack Wagman at Ecco and Anne Collins at Knopf Canada, pushed me to meet my ambitions for The Real Lolita and then exceed them. I am fortunate to have had such incisive and thoughtful editorial guidance from two of the very best in the business. And to Holly Harley, my editor at Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK, thank you for your continued support and never wavering in your enthusiasm for the project.

At Ecco, thanks to Miriam Parker, Sonya Cheuse, Meghan Deans, Megan Lynch, Denise Oswald, Dan Halpern, James Faccinto, Ashley Garland, Martin Wilson, Sara Wood (for the heart-stopping cover design), Allison Saltzman, Lisa Silverman, Andrea Molitor, and especially to Emma Janaskie. At Penguin Random House Canada, thanks to Sarah Jackson, Pamela Murray, Max Arambulo, Marion Garner, Matthew Sibiga, Sarah Smith-Eivemark, Liz Lee, Jared Bland, Robert Wheaton, and Kristin Cochrane.

Special thanks to the MacDowell Colony, for the gift of time and space to finish the first draft of the book; to Karen Riedenburg and David Dean, for invaluable research assistance; to all the archivists and institutions I visited for my research, and the sources who were generous with their time and interviews (more on them in the Notes section); and to Diana Chiemingo, who gave me her trust, faith, and belief that I could do full justice to the brief life of her aunt Sally.

Thank you to friends, family, and colleagues, a list that is by no means comprehensive: Megan Abbott, Jami Attenberg, Alice and Julian AvRutick, Louis AvRutick, Dov Berger, Liza Birkenmeier, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Michael Cader, Steph Cha, Pamela Colloff, Julia Dahl, Hilary Davidson, Michelle Dean, Robin Dellabough, Nina Elkin, Lyndsay Faye, Dedi Felman, Charles Finch, Jordan Foster, Emily Giglierano, Juliet Grames, David Grann, Peggy Hageman, Reyhan Harmanci, Lauren Milne Henderson, Ella Hickson, Cara Hoffman, Elizabeth Howard, Janet Hutchings, Hillel Italie, Ethan Iverson, Maureen Johnson, Rokhl Kafrissen, Stephen Karam, Leslie Kauffman, Bob Kolker, Scaachi Koul, Sara Kramer, Maris Kreizman, Clair Lamb, Michelle Legro, Katia Lief, Laura Lippman, Mimi Lipson, Lisa Lutz, Michael Macrone, Jeffrey Marks, Laura Marsh, Kyla Marshell, Chantelle Osman, Helen Oyeyemi, Bud Parr, Andrea Pitzer, Bryon Quertermous, Naben Ruthnum, Alex Segura, Deb Shoval, Kathy Smith, Erin Somers, Daniel Stashower, Adam Sternbergh, Sara Stopek, Caryn Sweeney, Vu Tran, Sharon AvRutick Wallace, Joe Wallace, Robin Wasserman, Deborah Wassertzug, Dave White, Alina Wickham, and Jennifer Young.

Lastly, thank you to my brother, Jaime; the memory of my father, Jack, who I know would have been prouder than anyone that I published this book. And to my mother, Judith, forever my hero.