Days after TikTok users theorized that Taylor Swift is the author of a mystery book coming this July, speculation has turned to another musical phenomenon: the mega-popular Korean boy band BTS.
No one can quite agree on the identity of “Flatiron Author to Be Revealed July 2023,” the author (or authors) of the forthcoming book currently known only as 4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023.
The owner of a bookstore in New York state made waves on TikTok with the theory that the book was by Swift, noting that the book is 544 pages, and that those digits add up to 13, Swift’s lucky number. The bookseller also pointed out that publisher Flatiron said that the book “has a global appeal and skews towards a younger audience.”
Not so fast, say other social media users. Her Campus reports that members of BTS ARMY, the band’s intensely devoted fan club, think that their guys are the actual authors of the book. They note that the date of the author reveal is June 13, the anniversary of the band, and that July 9, the date of the book’s release, is ARMY Day.
Literary Hub notes that the dueling theories behind the book have sent it skyrocketing up the charts. As of Tuesday morning, it was the eighth-bestselling book on Amazon, putting it ahead of titles by Prince Harry and Colleen Hoover.
Barring a leak, readers will have to wait more than a month to discover the identity of the book’s author(s). But we can all agree that it’s going to be hilarious when it turns out to be a collection of gluten-free recipes from Grease 2 star Adrian Zmed.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
