On March 6, 2007, approximately nine months after my website went onto the Internet, I wrote to the president-and-publisher of Penguin Group (USA):

It’s been about a year now, I believe, since I’ve received any forwarded reader letters. This seems strange to me, especially considering the significantly increased sales of The Tao of Pooh reported in the latest royalty statement. Could you please look into the matter?

On April 2, having received no reply, I sent a second letter:

Regarding my letter of March 6 (copy enclosed):

By now I realize how lightly Penguin takes its mail-forwarding responsibility. But I would appreciate at least a reply.

Also on April 2, as a precaution, I sent copies of both letters to the editorial assistant who had corresponded with me the year before regarding the new cover designs for the paperback editions of The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet.  

On April 14, I received in the mail an envelope from Penguin Young Readers Group, postmarked April 10. Inside was a slit-open envelope addressed by a Chicago reader to me in care of Dutton Books and postmarked January 30, containing an appreciative message written on a large card. Presumably it had been routed to the Young Readers Group by mistake.

On April 16, I received a letter – dated April 6, postmarked April 11 – from an assistant to the Penguin Group president, stating in part:

We, too, find it surprising that you are not receiving mail from readers as your books are so popular…. All author mail is directed to me, and I make sure to send it to the intended recipient on the day it arrives in the office. If mail came for you, I would definitely have seen it and would have sent it to you.

On July 30, no other forwarded reader letters having arrived from Penguin, my attorney discussed by telephone the absence-of-mail situation with both the publishing-house president and her assistant. Both of them subsequently questioned mailroom personnel and then assured my attorney that no letters for me had arrived during the by-then sixteen months.

On August 6, I talked with a friend about the absence of mail. "That's impossible," he declared. "Someone must've written to you during all that time --- that's crazy." The following day, he sent a fake fan letter to me in care of the publisher, to see if it would be forwarded.

On August 16, I sent a fake fan letter of my own to "Benjamin Hoff / Author of The Tao of Pooh," in care of Penguin under an assumed name, using for a return address on the envelope the post office box from this "Updates" page. In the presence of a witness, I oriented the letter in the envelope in a certain way, the idea being that if I then received the forwarded letter positioned differently in the envelope, I could be sure that it had been taken out and read.

On August 17, my friend's "fan letter" arrived, in its envelope, accompanied in the enclosing Penguin envelope by a letter from the president's assistant. My friend's envelope, addressed to "Benjamin Hoff / Author of 'Tao of Pooh,'" had been slit open. To my practiced eye, the letter was not as convincingly authentic as a genuine fan might have written, but perhaps I was being overly particular.

On August 25, I received an envelope from Penguin containing a note of greetings from the president's assistant and my fake fan letter -- without its envelope.

To summarize the situation as of August 27: Over a period of approximately seventeen months, with sales of The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet climbing (presumably due to the popularity of this website), I have received a total of three reader letters forwarded to me by Penguin. Two of these were fakes sent to test the mail-forwarding system. The other one, as indicated by the return address and "ZIP+4" code on the Penguin envelope in which it was sent, had seemingly been routed to the wrong department, from which it was sent on to me. The envelopes for all three letters were opened, despite having been clearly addressed to me, which presumably means the letters had been read.

In the meantime, I have been receiving mail from readers at the website-posted post office box, which I will keep at least until the end of October, when the six-months' rent is due:

P.O. Box 686
Wilsonville, OR 97070-0686

 On September 19, the following letter arrived (strangely enough, at the website post office box, rather than at the address Penguin has on file for me):

First, I don't know what letter of mine is being referred to. I'd sent no letter on this matter since April 2, and then certainly not using the website P.O. box.

Second, regarding the statement that "[I]t is our policy to open all letters addressed to authors, in the case that they are threats, or are offensive in some other way," this clearly indicates that when one's book is published by Penguin, one involuntarily gives up the right to receive mail from readers unread by a third party -- which is a matter of giving up one's privacy. And what if a Penguin mail snoop encounters a letter that said snoop considers offensive or threatening? Is that letter then confiscated? "The assistant to the president is responsible for opening all of the mail...." Considering the alleged high volume of mail, how can that be?

This matter is getting weirder all the time.

October 27: Approximately one year and eight months have now passed since I've received any reader letters forwarded to me by Penguin, with the exception of the two phony fan letters and the card that had been routed to the wrong department by mistake.

On October 31, the six-months' rental period for the above-listed post office box will end. I have decided not to renew.