As someone who has more than once lost significant chunks of writing projects because of my long-standing allergy to backing up my work, I have great empathy for Lana Del Rey, who announced on her Instagram Stories that someone had broken into her car and stolen a backpack containing a computer, three camcorders, and a hard-drive.

The computer—which Del Rey explained that she remotely wiped—contained a 200-page manuscript for her second book with Simon & Schuster, which she did not have backed up on the cloud. Whoever stole the hardware also has access to unreleased music and personal photos.

“I loved the book that I lost with all of my heart and put a lot of passion into it,” she said in her video. I’m hoping that Del Rey at least has access to a somewhat recent version of the manuscript, but as anyone who’s ever put their trust in humanity or technology only to end up with smashed windows and a missing manuscript knows, this situation truly sucks.

[via AV Club]

Jessie Gaynor

Jessie Gaynor

Jessie Gaynor is a senior editor at Lit Hub whose writing has appeared in McSweeney's, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, The Glow was published by Random House in 2023. You can buy it here.