André Schiffrin

Publisher of great 20th-century writers and thinkers who lifted the lid on the business of booksIn March 1990, the publishing world was stunned by news of André Schiffrin's controversial resignation from the position he had held for the previous 29 years as editor-in-chief of Pantheon Books. Most of his senior editorial team resigned alongside him and a letter of protest was signed by more than 300 eminent authors, including Arthur Miller, William Styron and Kurt Vonnegut. The New Yorkers among them mounted a demonstration outside (the parent company) Random House's headquarters and EL Doctorow used the National Book Critics Circle annual dinner as a platform to express his outrage. The episode ignited a debate about the tension between the political and commercial role of publishing that continues to this day.During his time at Pantheon, André, who has died aged 78, published some of the great writers and thinkers of the second half of the 20th century while sticking to a consistently leftwing agenda. Eric Hobsbawm, EP Thompson, Edward Said, Anita Brookner, RD Laing, Michel Foucault, Noam Chomsky, Art Spiegelman and Marguerite Duras were in his stable, along with Studs Terkel, the idea for whose bestselling oral histories André came up with after listening to Terkel's radio shows. As independent publishers began to be acquired by global conglomerates and phrases such as "fiscal responsibility" were bandied about, André categorically refused to cut his cloth, his list or... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Wi2023: Long-Awaited Reunions and New Acquaintances in Seattle

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The PRH Trial Has Revealed a Barely Hidden Scorn for Independent Publishers

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[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-18 08:54:18 UTC ]
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