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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Suited to Change: Spotlight on the Jerusalem International Book Forum

Known for its mix of intellectual and informal gatherings, the forum embraces cultural diversity and fosters inclusion and open dialogue. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Where are all the Black editors?

This piece was going to be about the art of editing and how vital this is for career progression. It was going to talk about the challenge faced by young editors to get editing hours under their belt. The day-to-day job of publishing books, all the marketing and the admin, means that editing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-09 21:01:40 UTC ]
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Rights Roundup: The Pandemic Changes the Book Fair Calendar Again

Titles in our Rights Roundup come from Japan by way of Finland, as well as Slovakia, Sweden, Germany, Turkey, the United States, and France. The post Rights Roundup: The Pandemic Changes the Book Fair Calendar Again appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-04-09 16:27:44 UTC ]
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A Potion Made of Stolen Gold to Achieve the Indian American Dream

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[ Electric Literature | 2021-04-09 11:00:00 UTC ]
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How grief became path-breaking poetry in Victoria Chang's 'Obit'

After her parents fell ill, Victoria Chang, finalist for a Times Book Prize, wrote 'Obit,' poems styled as obituaries of loved ones — and herself. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-06 14:00:08 UTC ]
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James McBride has won the inaugural Gotham Book Prize for literature that celebrates NYC.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-04-06 13:00:34 UTC ]
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Letter to the Editor: Maryland's E-Book Bill 'Likely Unconstitutional'

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A modern-day historian writes the timeline of American decline

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Stories of Cubans and Cuban Americans

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Robert Hershon, Artful Poet Who Published Poets, Dies at 84

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[ The New York Times | 2021-03-31 21:53:23 UTC ]
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21 Books for the 21st Century: The Longlist, by The Editors of WLT

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[ World Literature Today | 2021-03-31 20:04:23 UTC ]
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A debut novel about migration, family and survival is everything 'American Dirt' wasn't

"Of Women and Salt," tracking generations of Latinas, comes out of Gabriela Garcia's family story, life experience and advocacy for migrants. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-03-23 19:20:30 UTC ]
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[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-23 13:00:00 UTC ]
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