Robert Gottlieb: the editor who changed American literature

The man who ushered classics like Catch-22 into the world, Gottlieb has reason to brag. But in his new memoir Avid Reader he prefers to downplay the editor’s role Joseph Heller, the author of Catch-22, once gave an interview where he credited his editor with kicking his work into shape. After the interview ran, Heller got an irritated phone call. The caller was his editor, Robert Gottlieb. Gottlieb told Heller to knock it off. “I felt then, and still do, that readers shouldn’t be made aware of editorial interventions,” Gottlieb writes in his new memoir, Avid Reader: A Life. “They have a right to feel that what they’re reading comes direct from the author to them.”Gottlieb’s book is full of stories like that one. He is a very unassuming person, for an alleged legend – a characterization he laughs at to me, saying his daughter pokes fun at him for so often being called it. Yet beginning at Simon & Schuster in the 1950s and 1960s, flourishing at Knopf in the 1970s and 1980s, and with a brief but memorable detour to the New Yorker (as an editor), Gottlieb’s editing pen has touched the manuscripts of most of the important American writers of the 20th century – and several of the British ones, too. He did it, though, as much from behind the scenes as he possibly could. “I’ve given very few interviews,” he told me when I met him at his book-lined townhouse on New York’s East Side. He is only giving this one now, he says, because he needs to help the publisher sell his book. ... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #avid reader #simon schuster #20th century

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Penguin Little Black Classics review – affordable snippets of great literature

From Homer to Balzac to Darwin to Dickens, these Penguin 80th birthday booklets are where publishing meets public serviceIt was quite overwhelming, to open the box containing all 80 of these booklets – one for each year in the life of Penguin Books. Each is around 60 pages long; each is an... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Liveright's Robert Weil to Receive Friedrich Ulfers Prize

The award will be presented at the opening ceremony of New York City's Festival Neue Literatur 2015 on February 19. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Peru’s Colmena Editores Gives Edgy Debut Authors a Voice

One of Peru's fledgling publishers, Colmena Editores, is making room for edgy new generation of authors, while also offering classics and criticism. The post Peru’s Colmena Editores Gives Edgy Debut Authors a Voice appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Proposed changes in copyright law could render online music streaming more expensive

Late last week, the United States Copyright Office released a report recommending sweeping reforms to the existing music licensing system, which is a labyrinthine mess of outdated regulations (because most of them were established before the Internet age).Titled “Copyright and the Music... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC changes ending of Casual Vacancy

The BBC has changed the “bleak” ending of J K Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy for its TV adaptation, due to be screened this month. Screenwriter Sarah Phelps told the Telegraph that she had had to come up with a redemptive ending for the story, set in the fictional village of Pagford. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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View 70+ file types with Free Editor

Office, PDFs, ebooks, archives, audio, video, images: the average PC owner regularly encounters a lengthy list of file formats, and viewing them all typically requires an entire library of software. Free Editor claims it can simplify all that by opening 70-plus file formats from a single... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Notes on the American Magazine Media Conference

It was a glass-half-full kind of event and in the end, they didn't rename it the AMMC for nothing. The post Notes on the American Magazine Media Conference appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Changes to HBG Sales Unit; Epstein Named V-P

Dave Epstein has been promoted to v-p of retail sales, and will oversee sales of both adult and children's books to all traditional retail accounts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four Questions For...'Girl on the Train' Editor Sarah McGrath

We chatted with the Riverhead editor-in-chief about the thriller's meteoric rise. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Changes on Board for NCIBA

Northern California Independent Booksellers Association president Calvin Crosby has resigned his position, now that he has joined McSweeney's as marketing director. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'American Sniper' Rules Bestseller List

As the cultural debate over the film American Sniper continues to swirl, the book on which it is based held the top three spots on the print bestseller list last week, according to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Inside the Mind of Moses: PW Talks with Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg

Biblical scholar Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg trains her trademark lens on the Book of Numbers, using psychoanalytic concepts to understand the story of the people of Israel wandering in the wilderness. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Bestsellers: ‘American Sniper’ Still Leads

The enhanced ebook of Chris Kyle’s memoir held firm at the top of Apple’s bestseller list for the week ended January 26. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conde Nast Editors to Create Articles, Videos for Advertisers

Glossy magazine publisher Conde Nast, which owns Vogue and Vanity Fair, is enlisting its editors to consult with advertisers and help them create articles and images.The move -- which comes with the rollout of 23 Stories by Conde Nast, a new department charged with creating content for brands --... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Alliances Bolster Latin American Indie Publishing

A quintet of editors from Argentina and Mexico discuss the boom and future of independent publishing in Latin America. The post How Alliances Bolster Latin American Indie Publishing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Evolution of the UK Mobile Editor

In five short  years mobile readership has grown from below 20 percent of the U.K. total digital publishing audience to nearly 50 percent for many publishers today, as several of them reported to Digiday last year.   As ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The readers’ editor on… verification | Stephen Pritchard

Online readers expressed concern that an interview with a victim of sexual exploitation did not adequately seek to verify her claimsPersonal testimony is a powerful tool in any struggle to increase public awareness and to fight injustice. When that testimony is as searing as the one given by... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Profile's Gray promoted to commissioning editor

Profile has promoted Rebecca Gray to the position of commissioning editor of Serpent’s Tail and Profile Books. Andrew Franklin, m.d. of Profile Books, said: “We missed Rebecca a lot when she was away on maternity leave and are delighted to have her back, especially now that she will be bringing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lahiri wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

Jhumpa Lahiri has won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2015 for The Lowland, published in the UK by Bloomsbury. Lahiri was named the winner of the $50,000 prize at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival taking place in India this week. The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is open to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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American Book Critics Pick Finalist for NBCC Awards

The National Book Critics Circle has selected its finalist for this year's annual book prizes, as well as awards for lifetime achievement and reviewing. The post American Book Critics Pick Finalist for NBCC Awards appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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