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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From the Archive: March 30, 1998

This summer, the courts will rule on Bertelsmann subsidiary PRH’s planned purchase of Simon & Schuster. But 24 years ago, the industry was agape over Bertelsmann’s acquisition of Random House. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A new book on songwriting is coming from Bob Dylan.

The times they are a-changin’: Bob Dylan’s first book in eighteen years is coming out this November via Simon & Schuster. It will be Dylan’s first published book since winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. According to Simon & Schuster, The Philosophy of Modern Song is a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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Simon & Schuster Canada To Open a Canadian Scribner Imprint

The Canadian arm of Simon & Schuster is to open its Scribner Canada imprint with works of Iain Reid and Deborah Thompson. The post Simon & Schuster Canada To Open a Canadian Scribner Imprint appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

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Book Deals: Week of February 21, 2021

Marysue Rucci buys Vanessa Chan’s debut novel, Christie Tate sells a memoir about female friendship to Avid Reader, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Book Deals: Week of February 21, 2022

Marysue Rucci buys Vanessa Chan’s debut novel, Christie Tate sells a memoir about female friendship to Avid Reader, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Publishers, Agencies Start Receiving Subpoenas as DoJ-PRH Case Ramps Up

As Penguin Random House and the Department of Justice continue to prepare for an August trial in which PRH hopes to block the government’s effort to kill its acquisition of Simon & Schuster, professionals throughout the industry are finding themselves pulled into the legal fray. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Rubin's behind the scenes publishing memoir goes to Applause Books

Stephen Rubin, a consulting publisher at Simon & Schuster US, has written a behind the scenes memoir, Words and Music: Confessions of an Optimist, to be published by Applause Books in the US in January 2023.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

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Jessica Chastain has optioned Jessamine Chan’s The School for Good Mothers for TV.

Deadline has reported that Jessica Chastain, through her cutely named production company Freckle Films, has beaten out several others to the TV rights to Jessamine Chan’s The School for Good Mothers. The School for Good Mothers, published this week by Simon & Schuster, is Chan’s debut novel;... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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Joan Didion, Revered Journalist and Novelist, Dies at 87

Joan Didion, one of the most widely respected journalists and writers of the latter half of 20th century, has died due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. She was 87. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster file withering response to DOJ antitrust suit

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Publisher Pulls Alice Sebold's Memoir As 1981 Rape Conviction Is Overturned

Simon & Schuster said it was working with the author on how to revise her 1999 book "Lucky" after Anthony Broadwater was cleared of the assault it describes. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

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S&S seizes two more YA novels from TikTok sensation Silvera

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S&S promotes Jones to senior commissioning editor

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Authors Guild doubles down on support of antitrust suit against publisher mega-merger

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S&S Has Stellar Third Quarter

Despite working in something of a state of limbo caused by its pending purchase by Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster had a solid first half of 2021, and the good results carried into the third quarter, with sales rising 15% and profits jumping 66%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Justice Department Sues to Block Penguin Random House Acquisition of Simon & Schuster

The Department of Justice sues to block the acquisition of Simon and Schuster from Penguin Random House. Continue reading at Book Riot

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DOJ sues to block Penguin Random House from merging with Simon & Schuster

Some tech analysts are a bit baffled by the move and, subsequently, the DOJ’s priorities. The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against publisher Penguin Random House that seeks to block its proposed merger with rival Simon & Schuster. It’s one of the Biden administration’s... Continue reading at Fast Company

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Justice Department Sues to Block Penguin Random House Acquisition of S&S

The Department of Justice has sued to block Penguin Random House’s proposed acquisition of Simon & Schuster, arguing that it "would result in substantial harm to authors." Lawyers for PRH said that they expect the case to go to trial sometime in 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Boubacar Boris Diop Wins Prestigious 2022 Neustadt International Prize for Literature

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Incest story by Pinocchio author published in English for the first time

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