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 ]
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There are few things more heartbreaking for an editor than turning the lights off on a publication. Unfortunately, today marks the second time I've had to perform that unrewarding task. And while I plan to make good on my promise to take what we've learned here at Distro and transfer it to... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alan Watt, who edited the anthology 'My First Novel,' invited 25 writers to contribute recollections about how they got their start. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#creative process
A panel of industry experts gathered to discuss the state of publishing’s ever-changing jobs market at a Publishers Weekly Discussion Series on September 25, at Random House’s offices in midtown Manhattan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, has voted to retain its... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barbara Ehrenreich tackles "the truth"; Arianna Huffington tackles success; Elizabeth Gilbert tackles fiction; Alice McDermott tackles being ordinary; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#american agencies
The Man Booker Prize submission rule changes will have a negative impact on small publishers,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nancy Gibbs has been a long-time member of Time, but with Richard Stengel's departure to the U.S. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2013-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Man Booker Prize has extended its criteria and will from next year accept any novels... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If the Man Booker Prize does open itself to US writers, the administrators could have a tough job... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The National Book Awards launched its first long-list with the 10 books in the running for the 2013 award for Young People's Literature on Monday.The National Book Awards launched its first long-list with the 10 books in the running for the 2013 award for Young People's Literature on Monday. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Man Booker Prize has admitted that changes are being made to its rules. However the award has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With a new CEO and a new set of titles, it's been a busy week (in the midst of a busy year) for Time Inc. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2013-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"I love Times Square." Those might not be the words you would expect to hear out of the mouth of a fashion magazine editor, but this kind of statement is typical of Eva Chen, the new editor–in–chief of Lucky Magazine. Since her arrival in June, now with two issues under her belt, she has been... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After a two-decade-long relationship between the magazine giant Time Inc. and American Express, Time Inc. plans to close quickly on its purchase of American Express’s publishing division. “This 20-year courtship is finally bei ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In each issue of Distro, Executive Editor Marc Perton publishes a wrap-up of the week in news. In the US, Labor Day traditionally marks the end of the lazy days of summer, and the beginning of the busy fall season. While this summer was hardly quiet -- it included, you might recall, major... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#amazon announced
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Ever since the Penguin–Random House merger was announced, Markus Dohle, CEO of the new company, has promised that the integration of the two publishers would be handled carefully and deliberately. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The late New York Times Reporter Anthony Shadid, who died in Syria last year, is among the winners of the 2013 Arab American Book Awards. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When the U.K. newspaper the Sunday Times outed J.K. Rowling as the author of detective novel The Cuckoo's Calling earlier this year, computer scientists were among the first people called in. Although the novel was published under the pen name Robert Galbraith, two computational... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In each issue of Distro, Executive Editor Marc Perton publishes a wrap-up of the week in news. There's a very good chance you're reading this on a tablet. Distro is, after all, first and foremost, a tablet magazine. There's also a reasonable chance you're reading this on a computer. Distro... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The rapid pace of change with publishing technology, and consumer technology for that matter, has opened up a host of new opportunities for publishers. “Prevailing wisdom” has been turned on its head. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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