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 ]

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BEA 2014: Big Children's Books at BEA

For readers of all ages and interests, there were no shortages of titles to grab, snag, and talk about. YA continues to generate long lines and lots of attention. At Simon & Schuster, one of the big teen titles was Scott Westerfeld's Afterworlds—and not just because BEA factors into the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Clinton Wins The Vote on Social Media

As questions continue to swirl about Hillary Clinton’s potential run for the presidency in 2016, her still-unpublished book, "Hard Choices" (Simon & Schuster), was the most buzzed about title on social media in May. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: Successful Longevity

In November of 2012 Herman Wouk, at age 97, spoke to Brooks Barnes of the New York Times about his newest book, The Law Giver, which had just been published by Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air May 28, 2014: Michael Waldman

Michael Waldman, author of "The Second Amendment: A Biography" (Simon & Schuster, 9781476747446), will appear on the "Diane Rehm Show" on Thursday, May 29. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S Adds E-Book Backlist to Oyster, Scribd

Simon & Schuster has reached an agreement with subscription ebook services Oyster and Scribd to make 10,000 of its backlist ebooks available to subscribers. This is S&S’s first time offering its titles via ebook subscription services. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Global subscription deal for S&S

Simon & Schuster has partnered with Oyster and Scribd to offer subscriptions to its backlist... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales Fall, Earnings Rise at S&S

First quarter sales in 2014 fell 11% at Simon & Schuster, to $153 million, but operating income rose to $11 million from $10 million in the first quarter of 2013, parent company CBS reported. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unprepared

As the school year winds down and many parents of high school seniors prepare to send their kids off to college in the fall, Slate wanted to share one father’s experience of coming to terms with this next chapter in parenthood. That father just happens to be Rob Lowe. The following is an adapted... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: May 6, 2014

Liz Perl has been promoted to executive v-p, marketing for Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Religion Update Spring 2014: Love and Marriage, and Kids, and Books, Go Together

The topics of marriage and raising children are both evergreen and ever new for first-timers,” says Philis Boultinghouse, senior editor at Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S wins Letters auction

Simon & Schuster has won an auction for Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey. Clare Hey, senior... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S gets TED dozen

Simon & Schuster has partnered with TED Conferences to co-publish a 12-book collection. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Check it Out with Michael Kelley: Simon & Schuster’s E-book Lending Pilot

When it comes to the library ebook lending market, it’s fair to say that Simon & Schuster has been the most cautious of the major houses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Judge approves class-action suit against Apple in ebooks case

A New York judge has given the go-ahead for a group to collectively sue Apple for damages over its collusion with publishers to fix the price of electronic books.Denise Cote, a judge at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, wrote in her approval of class status that... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S signs two from Lynda La Plante

Simon & Schuster has signed two new books from Lynda La Plante covering the early life of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's customers get credits from ebook antitrust settlement

Customers of Amazon.com Inc. found credits in their inboxes Tuesday from the settlement of an antitrust lawsuit over ebook prices. Amazon, in a Customer FAQ posting on its website, said the credits are partial refunds and will be applied automatically to the accounts of those eligible: people... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lansens signs two with S&S

The Girls author Lori Lansens has moved from Virago to Simon & Schuster for a new two-book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Meat Industry 1, Obama Administration 0

This essay is excerpted from The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business, by Christopher Leonard, published by Simon & Schuster. Read another excerpt from The Meat Racket, about how Tyson keeps chicken prices high. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air March 4, 2014: Jaron Lanier

Jaron Lanier, author of "Who Own the Future" (Simon & Schuster, 9781451654974), will appear on the "Colbert Report" on Tuesday, March 4. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How the Meat Industry Keeps Chicken Prices High

This essay is excerpted from The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business, by Christopher Leonard, published by Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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