ABSTRACT
The use of fiction as a lens for examining the realities of public relations activity is justified by the assertion that for a novel to feel 'realistic' it must conform with the reader's experience and expectations. In Bloodland by Alan Glynn, we meet Bob Lessing, 'a guy in his late fifties wearing a grey suit and a bow tie who runs a PR firm' who specializes in 'strategic communications and risk analysis for large companies working overseas'. The tactics employed by fictional PRs can extend to threats, bullying, violence, even murder, and misinformation, smear and sabotage are well-represented. Fictional public relations practitioners have a remarkably wide range of duties, but broadly, they can be summarized as sending out press releases, holding press conferences, running campaigns and staging events. Several of the novelists mentioned, including Bedford, Holden, Kelly and Kinsella, encountered public relations from the perspective of journalism.
