In literary endeavors, Princeton's Office of Communications plays little-known role

When David Pupa wanted to write a fictional book whose main character attends the University, he was told that he would have to gain official approval before it could be published.

In order to get the approval, Pupa submitted a rough draft of his manuscript and was granted preliminary approval two weeks later. He resubmitted the final draft of his book in May of this year. With few factual changes, the Office of Communications granted Pupa final approval and his debut thriller, "The Magician," was published this July.

The process started involuntarily when Pupa initially contacted the University in the summer of 2013 in order to request a tour of the campus. He said he hoped to gain a better understanding of the campus because a large portion of his book involves the University.

“At a fairly young age [the lead character] was exposed to no love and a lot of problems," Pupa explained. "He attends Princeton later on and when he attends Princeton, it’s the first time that his mind is actually exposed to the brilliance.”

This process highlights the little-known role that the Office of Communications plays in handling not only the image of the University in the media but also in the realm of literature.

Not all books relating to Princeton have gone through an official approval process, though, and it remains unclear when the University may get involved in the pre-publication stages of a book and whether it has any censor powers after a text has been published.

In April of this year, Danqi Shen ’11 published a book calledZi You De Lao Hu[Free Tigers] in mainland China. For the book, Shen compiled personal interviews and archival research she conducted about Princeton alumni.

“No one at Princeton reached out to me saying that I couldn’t publish a book on Princeton, so I did it," Shen said. "I’m not aware of any special process.”

W. Barksdale Maynard ’88, a lecturer at the School of Architecture and a writer at Princeton Alumni Weekly, has published two books related to Princeton and hasn’t gone through any approval process.

“I think what I have written is under that academic heading, and as such, one has the freedom to criticize freely or otherwise you’d be censored by the University,” Maynard said.

According to University spokesperson Martin Mbugua, the Office of Communications receives requests for a variety of projects, including use of the University's name in a book or film, or to film on campus. He explained that films such as "A Beautiful Mind" and "Admission," which are commonly associated with the University, have had to go through an approval process.

“Every instance that comes to the University’s attention is considered on a case by case basis,” Mbugua said.