Hyperion Postpones James Arthur Ray Books Following Sweat Lodge Deaths

The publisher had planned to release two titles in December

By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 10/23/2009 1:54:00 PM

Hyperion has postponed the publication of two books by self-help author James Arthur Ray, following the author’s possible involvement in the deaths of three people and hospitalization of 21 others in a sauna-like sweat lodge at an Arizona resort last month.

The house was planning to release a paperback edition of Ray’s bestselling Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want and a new book, The Seven Laws of True Wealth, by Ray in December. But on October 9, the news broke that Ray had led a “spiritual warrior” experience at a retreat center near Sedona, Ariz., in which 50 people crowded into a makeshift structure covered with blankets and plastic and heated with fiery rocks in the hopes of a spiritual cleansing—resulting in injuries and deaths. Hyperion spokesperson Marie Coolman said the books have been postponed until January 2011.

Harmonic Wealth was a New York Times bestseller. Ray was a “featured expert” in The Secret and has appeared on Oprah.