Raymond Silver with Mark Gertler’s The Rabbi and His Grandchild.
Ghostwriting agencies are reporting up to 400% increases in inquiries from grownup children who, frightened and stirred by Covid, say they want to bring their parents’ pasts to life and create a permanent piece of family history.
StoryTerrace, which matches families with professional ghostwriters, has more than 500 active projects in motion – more than at any time in the company’s history. They have doubled the number of full-time staff since the pandemic began and have plans to hire more next year.
“The percentage of projects with a primary aim of publishing are very small,” said Rutger Bruining, chief executive of StoryTerrace. “This is about the pandemic and people being separated from their parents, being worried about them and missing them.