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Library/Book/Go the F**k to Sleep
Grade B18 sourcesHIS-01620

Go the F**k to Sleep

Book · 2011 · Notable

41Editable slideCertificate

A leaked bedtime-book parody reached No. 1 on Amazon before its print release.

Clip · Text Publishing on Vimeo
Official cover with a sleeping child among tigers.
Ricardo Cortés / Akashic Books
Go the Fuck to Sleep - read by Noni Hazlehurst
Text Publishing on Vimeo
Adam Mansbach in 2007; photograph by Ferentz, CC BY 2.0.
Ferentz / CC BY 2.0

Spread Score

How it works
ReachNo data yetContagionNo data yetBreadth60Velocity29Longevity2741

Numbers

Seed to milestone
9 days
May 4 ’11 to May 13 ’11
Platforms
5
Started on Open web
Origin
Mixed
Media & publishing

Mechanics

  • TransgressionPrimary
  • Maker origin
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop
  • Controversy

How it spread

Trace the origin

A Facebook joke became a book. Preorders rose after a preview; the full PDF then circulated by email and Facebook. It topped Amazon before the June hardcover release. Jackson’s audiobook and publisher-led celebrity readings followed.

Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.

Google searchesMay ’10JulNovMay ’11JunJulSepDecApr ’12JulOctMilestoneFacebookRetailPressOpen webAudio
FacebookRetailPressOpen webAudio

13 more events on this chart

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Timeline (16)

  1. June 2010

    Adam Mansbach precursor · Jun 2010

    Mansbach joked on Facebook that he would write a bedtime book with the title.[1]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. April 2011

    Adam Mansbach precursor · Apr 23 ’11

    Mansbach read preview verses at an arts salon in Philadelphia before a Twitter wave drove preorders.[2][3]

  3. The New York Times precursor · Week of Apr 25, 2011

    The New York Times covered the preorder surge and said only a few booksellers had received the PDF.[3]

  1. seed · May 4 ’11

  2. press · May 5 ’11

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Why it worked

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Origin
Mixed
Sector
Media & publishing
Region
US
Reported figure
—
Evidence
Grade B

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New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.