Cait Corrain

Cait Corrain is a fantasy author in the science-fiction/fantasy book community. They have ties to the Reylo fandom from Star Wars, and wrote under the AO3 username Enterprisingly.https://twitter.com/CaitCorrain/status/983908228592357376 Tweet by Cait Corrain: "Play To Win just hit 2,000 kudos on ao3. That means TWO THOUSAND people read my story and said "yeah, I like that". It's not even done yet. This is crazy. I've never had people respond to anything I've written like this before." Attached is a screenshot of the Reylo fic, "Play to Win" by Enterprisingly. Posted April 10, 2018. Accessed February 7, 2024. Corrain also used their Twitter heavily to update readers on new chapters of the fic.
Cait Corrain is a pseudonym, not their wallet name. 
In December 2023, Corrain was the central figure of a highly publicized review-bombing controversy on Goodreads.
==Notable Works==
*Play to Win, a well-received modern AU Reylo fic at the time of its publishing. The work has been removed from AO3, originally with the intention to file off the serial numbers.
==Controversy==
On December 5, 2023, author Xiran Jay Zhao posted on Twitter, "If you as a debut author are going to make a bunch of fake Goodreads accounts one-star-bombing fellow debuts you're threatened by can you at least not make it so obvious"Murray, Conor (2023-12-13). ""Author Cait Corrain Loses Book Deal For 'Review Bombing' On Goodreads—Here's Why It's A Longstanding Problem For The Platform". Forbes.. After Internet speculation on the author's identity, Zhao named the author as Cait Corrain and shared a Google Doc showing screenshots of low ratings from accounts allegedly owned by Corrain.An Author Review Bombed Books on Goodreads. Then Her Debut Book Was Dropped by Laura Zornosa, TIME Magazine, December 13, 2023. Accessed February 6, 2024.
Corrain initially blamed the review-bombs on someone they had met through Reylo fandom, a user named Lilly who also went by "Lemonado." However, as many Reylos were already familiar with Corrain and their work, other Reylos disputed this claim, saying that they had never met a Reylo named Lilly/Lemonado who was also associated with Corrain in any way.https://x.com/StorySorcery/status/1733119715147502078?s=20 Tweet by StormSorcery from December 8, 2023. Accessed February 6, 2024 Additionally, many noticed that Corrain's Discord screenshots with "Lilly" had inconsistent timestamps in the messages, leading many to believe that they were faked. 
Corrain later issued an apology, admitting that Lilly/Lemonado was non-existent, and that they had recently "suffered a complete psychological breakdown" after "fighting a losing battle against depression, alcoholism and substance abuse"Publisher drops author for using fake accounts to ‘review-bomb’ peers by Ella Creamer and Lucy Knight, The Guardian, December 13, 2023. Accessed February 4, 2024.. They entered an "intensive psychiatric care" facility on December 12, 2023.Gelt, Jessica (December 12, 2023). "Cait Corrain apologizes, checks into rehab after Goodreads 'review bombing' rival authors". LA Times.
The fantasy novel Crown of Starlight was scheduled to be Cait Corrain's debut title, published in 2024 through Del Rey, a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House"Writer admits to 'review bombing' other authors' books, then has own novel cancelled". Associated Press. December 13, 2023.. As of December 12, Corrain was no longer represented by agent Rebecca Podos. Del Rey and UK publisher Daphne Press also cancelled their contracts with Corrain.
Many Reylos, fans, involved authors, and critics alike noted that Corrain had proportionally targeted authors of color, indicating a blatant pattern of racism through Corrain's apparent feelings of being threatened by their nonwhite peers. Though Corrain did not initially acknowledge these criticisms in their December apology, in one of the screenshots with "Lilly" that they later admitted to have doctored, "Lilly" does point this out, and remarks upon it being racist. Many found this hypocritical as Corrain marketed themself as inclusive; the main character in Crown of Starlight is shown to be a black woman on the novel's cover art. 
The controversy was cited by industry professionals as an example of abuse issues on Goodreads.Taken from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cait_Corrain_review_bombing_controversy
==Affected Authors==
* R.M. Virtues
* K.M. Enright
* Frances White
* Kamilah Cole
* Molly X Chang
* Thea Guanzon
* Bethany Baptiste
Corrain, who is white, left review bombs under the names Emily Bartlet, Chantal B, KJ Horrowitz, Sarah Dudley, Brett Spinner, Shaharizad Moën, and Oh Se-Young on Goodreads, as early as April 2023.
== Corrain's Response ==
On February 13, 2024, the Daily Beast posted an exclusive interview with Corrain wherein they discussed and responded to the controversy, claiming that their review-bombs were not racially motivated. Instead, a combination of substance abuse, mental disabilities, and deep-rooted insecurities were the source of their actions:
However, the article does not touch upon Corrain's choice of names to review-bomb under, notably "Oh Se-Young" and "Shaharizad Moën", which was among the primary evidence that caused many fans and critics to believe their actions were racially motivated.
==Video Essays==
*Cait Corrain | Author's Behaving Badly by Reads with Rachel
*How an author’s pettiness destroyed her career: review bombing, Reylos, and 30+ pages of receipts by withcindy
*What the Cait Corrain Situation Says About Publishing by BookishRealm
==Further Reading==
*Cait Corrain/Enterprisingly is dropped by publisher and agent, Reddit. Posted in December, Accessed February 6, 2024.
*Scandal Rocks Publishing as Debut Author Is Linked To Fake Goodreads Accounts That Review Bombed Peers by Alyssa Shotwell, The Mary Sue, December 11, 2023. Accessed February 4, 2024.
*A first-time author lost a book deal after she was accused of trying to sabotage reviews of other authors by Angela Yang, NBC News, December 11, 2023. Accessed February 4, 2024.
*Goodreads has a 'review bombing' problem — and wants its users to help solve it by Jim Zarroli, NPR, December 17, 2023. Accessed February 6, 2024.
*She ‘Review Bombed’ Other Writers. Then Her Book Got Pulled. by Alexander Alter, New York Times, December 12, 2023. Accessed February 6, 2024.
==Citations==
Category:People
Category:Professional Authors
Category:Science Fiction Authors