On January 9, 2006 The New York Times sent shockwaves through the literary world when it unmasked "it boy" wunderkind JT LeRoy, whose tough prose about a sordid childhood had captivated icons and luminaries internationally. It turned out LeRoy didn't actually exist. He was the creative expression of 40-year-old San Francisco former phone-sex operator turned housewife, Laura Albert. 'Author: The JT LeRoy Story' takes us down the infinitely fascinating rabbit hole of how Laura Albert - like a Cyrano de Bergerac on steroids - breathed not only words, but life, into her avatar for a decade. Albert's epic and entertaining account plunges us into a glittery world of rock shows, fashion events, and the Cannes red carpet where LeRoy becomes a mysterious sensation. As she recounts this astonishing odyssey, Albert also reveals the intricate web spun by irrepressible creative forces within her. Her extended and layered JT LeRoy performance still infuriates many; but for Albert, channeling her brilliant fiction through another identity was the only possible path to self-expression. ★★★★ "'Author' is less a run-through of one of the biggest controversies to plague the literary world in the past century, than an illuminating study of the enigmatic and driven woman behind the phenomenon" - Nigel M Smith, The Guardian