Overview

• Joanna Cocking, whose mother’s café matches the book’s description, says the alleged bullying scene and details like carpeted floors and panini service never happened.
• Rob Braddick, landlord of the Fairway Buoy in Westward Ho!, confirms his pub never held a quiz as portrayed in Winn’s narrative.
• These localized disputes follow a July Observer investigation that prompted charities and booksellers to pull support and led Penguin Michael Joseph to delay Winn’s next book.
• Winn has enlisted legal counsel and submitted documentary evidence, including NHS letters, to uphold the accuracy of her account.
• The controversy has reignited debate over fact-checking standards in nonfiction publishing and the responsibilities of memoir authors.