In 2023, Millie Bobby Brown stepped into the publishing world with her debut book, Nineteen Steps. The young actress was showered with praise for adding yet another profession to her already impressive résumé. But, she did not write it. A ghostwriter named Kathleen McGurl did. When fans found out, the praise soon turned into backlash. Many fans were upset that Brown had not been upfront about using a ghostwriter. Now, two years after that controversy, new rules are being proposed to protect ghostwriters from Hollywood exploitation.

The UK writers' union has put forward new demands for Hollywood celebrities who use ghostwriters to pen their books.

Ghostwritten novels have long fueled debates about authorship and authenticity in publishing, but it always comes back to one thing– transparency. Millie Bobby Brown’s book Nineteen Steps became a perfect example of why this matters. The Stranger Things star faced heavy criticism for failing to explicitly credit ghostwriter Kathleen McGurl in the book or on its cover, perpetuating a misleading narrative. To address these kinds of situations, the UK Writers' Union is pushing for clear credit to be given to the actual authors of ghostwritten works.

Abbie Longstaff, chair of the Society of Authors’ Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group, voiced her support for the cause. “The real hand that spins the magic should be acknowledged and applauded,” she said in a statement. Mark McCrum, who co-wrote singer Robbie Williams’ memoir, also said, “It’s high time that ghostwriters got recognition.” Of course, Brown is not the first celebrity to release a ghostwritten book.

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Even Prince Harry owes his bestselling author status to ghostwriters. But as it turns out, he has not always been involved in the process.

Mark McCrum, a writer who worked on Prince Harry’s 2011 book Walking with the Wounded, recently shared his experience in an interview with the Daily Mail. According to McCrum, he never met Prince Harry while working on the project and does not even know if the Duke of Sussex read the final product. Instead of direct input, McCrum received a video of Prince Harry in Tromsø, Norway, preparing to join the soldiers featured in the book. And that was about it. He also compared his experience to that of Spare ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer.

Moehringer had earlier described feeling “exasperated” while working on Prince Harry’s memoir, in an article for the New Yorker. These revelations, along with growing awareness of the challenges faced by ghostwriters, have strengthened the writers' union’s calls for reform. They now want ghostwriters to get proper recognition and ensure their contributions are not buried under the names of celebrities.

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