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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Reed Exhibitions, organiser of the London Book Fair, is not anticipating changing the traditional... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The switchover to a new computer system at HarperCollins’ Glasgow distribution centres has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two months after obtaining a majority stake in the magazine, Chris Hughes, a co-founder of Facebook, is bringing back Franklin Foer as part of an ambitious plan to remake the magazine. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat' is a not-very-filling biography of the late Craig Claiborne, a food editor, restaurant critic and cookbook author who helped shape the modern American food world.The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Since Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Scientific American, both Macmillan brands, announced in fall 2010 that they were joining forces, Amanda Moon, senior editor of what is being called the Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux imprint, and Scientific American editor-in-chief Mariette... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 'Engines of Change,' Paul Ingrassia looks at history through 15 iconic cars, including the Ford Model T, Chevrolet Corvette, Volkswagen Beetle, Toyota Prius.It would be impossible to count the number of automotive makes and models that have come and gone since the car was first invented — or... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books Plus in Penzance has been sold to new owners and will soon change its name to The Edge of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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According to the newest figures from Bowker Market Research, online retailers accounted for 39% of all book sales in 2011, up from 30% in 2010. The increase gave the online channel, led by Amazon and BN.com, a commanding lead over bookstore chains as the largest outlet for sales. The chains,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has signed two historical thrillers from Sunday Times-bestselling author and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It would be a big surprise if one of the major publishers were to follow Stylist magazine and launch a mainstream free women's title, according to Lisa Smosarski, editor of Stylist, who believes such a move would be a "big step". Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2012-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By James Sturdivant My favorite part of a very good keynote address from Josh Tyrangiel, editor of Bloomburg Businessweek, at this year’s Publishing Business Conference & Expo (see full coverage here ) came... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2012-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The American Prospect is looking to raise half a million dollars this month, and gain $700,000 worth of pledged support for the new fiscal year starting in July, in order to avoid suspending publication, cutting back frequency or complete closure. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Data gathered by Nielsen BookScan for The Daily Beast show many of the same titles are popular in American cities – but exceptions include 'Heaven Is For Real' and 'The Great Gatsby.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The former publisher of the Wall Street Journal has defended Apple's Ebook Strategy saying it is not only good for Apple, but good for consumers and publishers as well. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With 'American Spy,' Steinhauer finishes what he started in 'The Tourist' and 'The Nearest Exit.' It's a thrilling, irresistible masterwork of love, guilt and revenge.On two separate occasions over the last nine years, Olen Steinhauer has brought a thriller series to a close. The first was the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 'ttyl' series by Lauren Myracle and 'The Color of Earth' by Kim Dong Hwa top the 2011 rankings of most challenged books. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One in five Americans say they've read an ebook in the last year, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Those numbers come from a late January survey, they're up sharply from a December 2011 survey. Pew says the jump coincides with a jump in... Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite the economic gloom, the number of titles produced annually in Russia continues to grow. The country is now #3 in terms of book production (approximately 125,000 new titles per year), after the U.S. and China. It also saw more than 20 million ebook downloads and some one million reading... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An advisory body to the French prime minister has predicted that ebooks are about to shake up... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Search-engine optimization reshaped the craft of a good headline. Will Amazon's book promotions have a similar effect on novels? Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2012-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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