I write books.

The latest is: “DUPED: DOUBLe lives, false identities and the con man I almost married.”

You SHOULD BUY IT.

 
 

DUPED

 

TEENAGE WAISTLAND

BUY THE BOOK

 

BUY THE BOOK

 
 

 PRAISE / REVIEWS FOR DUPED: DOUBLE LIVES, FALSE IDENTITIES, AND THE CON MAN I ALMOST MARRIED

 

  • “Abby Ellin has been Duped, and in this fascinating book, she reveals how and why ordinary people are often deceived by extraordinarily mendacious con artists. Ellin’s personal story leads her to delve deep into research of why people lie and how they lie, and she discovers how common treachery can be. If you’ve ever been lied to, or told a lie, you will want to read this surprising, personal, and funny investigation of deception.” —Piper Kerman, #1 bestselling author of Orange is the New Black

  • “I have recommended this one to friends who’ve loved someone they turned out not to know….Duped” is testament to the deep and enduring damage deception can inflict. What people don’t know hurts them. Reading “Duped” gave me occasion to second-guess even gentler deceptions; it may actually have made me a (slightly) better person.” — Tim Kreider, New York Times

  • “Abby Ellin’s writing is everything her fiancé pretended to be: witty, vulnerable, brave, smart, and honest.” —Michael Finkel, bestselling author of The Stranger in the Woods

  • is a book that can save lives. She paints an exquisite portrait of what life with a predator is like. No child should go to college without first reading this book.”—Joe Navarro, former FBI agent and bestselling author of Dangerous Personalities

  • “Thrilling, weird, and funny, Duped reveals the psychology of gaslighting, the prevalence of gullibility, and the wisdom in paranoia. Abby Ellin is a shrewd chronicler of cons and a gracious friend to the duped.”—Ada Calhoun, author of Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give

PRESS FOR DUPED: DOUBLE LIVES, FALSE IDENTITIES, AND THE CON MAN I ALMOST MARRIED

 TELEVISION

  • PBS/BBC “World News America” 1/23/19

  • NECN “The Take” 1/24/19

  • 60 Second Docs

  • BRIC TV, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4AOAhE7Ndo&feature=youtu.be

PRINT/ONLINE

  • Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, feature, 3/14/19

  • Book Riot, mention, 3/5/19

  • Refinery29, interview 2/14/19

  • New York Times, original piece by Abby, 2/12/19

  • The Week, short mention, 2/8/19

  • BobSullivan.net, column, 2/1/19

  • Winnipeg Free Press, review 1/19/19 “Truly terrific…She’s plain-spoken about her credulity. And she displays a self-deprecating and ironic wit…Her research is prodigious and impressive, and the writing nicely paced. There’s a lot of pep in her prose, resulting in a book that’s both playful and learned…Apparently common treachery can’t keep an uncommon woman down. Or impair her writing.”

  • NBC Today, books featured on the show post, 1/22/19

  • New York Post, feature interview, 1/20/19

  • Salon, interview, run date TK (weekend of 1/19/19)

  • People Magazine, review by Judith Newman, 1/18/19

  • Washington Post, feature, 1/17/19

  • Washingtonian, calendar listing 1/17/19

  • The Cut/NYMag.com, interview 1/15/19

  • New York Times Book Review, , 1/13/19

  • Bravo online, post about Bravo/Oxygen event, 1/11/19

  • Oxygen online, post about Bravo/Oxygen event, 1/10/19

  • Marie Claire, first serial, online 1/8/19, Feb print issue (picked up by Newser, Shondaland, MSN)

  • Pacific Standard, short review, January “at its best, the book is charged by curiosity about what people need from each other, and the lies and suspensions of disbelief that sometimes help them get it.”

  • Kirkus Reviews, review 10/8 “Candid and entertaining, Ellin's book offers insight into the socially and psychologically complex nature of deceit as well as the choices she made as a duped woman. Lively, provocative reading.”

  • Booklist, review, 12/1 issue “The author's hybrid of memoir and journalism works well for general readers, keeping things engaging and witty…A timely book for folks who wonder how we ended up in this post-truth world as well as readers of books like A Beautiful, Terrible Thing (2017) by Jen Waite.”

 

RADIO & PODCASTS

EVENTS

  • Bravo/Oxygen promotional event for “Dirty John” (Abby moderating), 1/8/19

  • Half-King Reading Series, New York, 1/14/19

  • Politics & Prose, Washington DC, 1/17/19

  • Brookline Booksmith, Brookline MA, 1/24/19

  • Book Passage Ferry Building, San Francisco, 2/7/19

  • Book Soup, Los Angeles, 2/12/19

  • SXSW, Austin, TX, March 2019

  • 92 Street Y, interview with Valerie Smaldone, 4/3/2019

  • Crime Con, New Orleans, June 2019

 

SELECT INTERNATIONAL PUBLICITY

  • BBC Radio 5 afternoon 1/29/19

  • The Telegraph, review, 1/19/19

  • Daily Mail, review 1/18/19 “She carries us along with her sparkling, hilarious, ruthlessly honest East-Coast-American prose, but probes away at serious questions.”

  • The Times (UK), review, 1/12/19 “Duped is memoir crossed with journalism, a funny, raw account of being at the receiving end. It’s an enjoyable romp with real hurt at its core, page-turning…But Ellin’s achievement is to lay bare the abuse of the duper, the ‘mindf***’ . How does anyone recover from that scale of emotional betrayal?”

  • Daily Mail, feature based on Marie Claire excerpt, 1/9/19

  • The High Low (podcast) reading list, 12/29/18

  • Saturday Times Magazine, first-serial, 1/12/19