Playboy Buys Nabokov's Last Work

Finally, an alibi for the “I only read it for the articles” defense! Playboy magazine has bought the first serial rights to the late Vladimir Nabokov’s final novella, The New York Observer reports. The author’s son, Dmitri, sold Playboy a 5,000-word excerpt of the unfinished work, entitled The Original of Laura, in the magazine’s December issue. “I try forcibly to remind people of our literary history because it is very easy for people to dismiss us,” said Playboy literary editor Amy Grace Loyd. “I’m happy to tell you we’ve never paid this much for a book excerpt before, ever.” The issue arrives on newsstands Nov. 10, about a week before the unabridged book will be sold in stores.