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

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Robert Gottlieb: the editor who changed American literature'


Apple confirms rule change over ebook apps

Written By: Philip Jones Apple has confirmed that it wants a cut of Amazon's Kindle sales made via its iPad and iPhone apps. The giant hardware company has said that it will no longer allow apps to sell content via a separate browser link, unless customers are also given the option of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook apps #sell content


New Republic Editor (and Part Owner) Steps Down After 37 Years

Marty Peretz, the editor-in-chief of The New Republic of the past 37 years, is stepping down and taking the title of "editor-in-chief emeritus." Editor Richard Just takes over as editor-in-chief. Perezt, who wrote a blog called The Spine, will continue to write a column for TheNewRepublic.com. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


At Fulfillment Roundtable, Panelists Mull the Changing Role of Bureaus

Top executives of some of the leading fulfillment companies were assembled for FMA's annual President's Panel yesterday to provide an update on their companies and how the market is evolving. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #changing role #top executives #annual president


Time to Change Co-op?

After several stark years in which stores like Cody's in San Francisco and Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville closed and the nation's second largest chain is teetering more than ever, publishers and booksellers are looking for new ways to work together. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #largest chain


Editor 'provided cover for spies'

Plot thickens: Dominic Lawson denies new accusations that he helped MI6 agents when working for the SpectatorRelated stories:MI6's lawyers lose spy book appeal Pen mightier than the sword Russian colonel's defection an intelligence coup for Britain Dominic Lawson, the editor of the Sunday... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2001-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sunday telegraph #spectator magazine