Barricade Books

Timing is Everything

2013-05-08T18:05:12+00:00

Today’s (5/8/13) New York Times has three pieces about sexual abuse in the military: The lead story on the front page, “Sexual Assaults In Military Raise Alarm in Capital,” an editorial, “The Military’s Sexual Assault Crisis,” and a column by Maureen Dowd, “America’s Military Injustice.” In 2007 we published a book by Dr. Mic Hunter, “HONOR BETRAYED, SEXUAL ABUSE IN AMERICA’S MILITARY.” The response was, to put it mildly, underwhelming. Dr. Hunter had counseled veterans, both men and women, who described their experiences of being sexually assaulted while serving. The subject was a perfect fit for Barricade: important and controversial. We anticipated headlines in print, interviews on radio and television. The reality was – complete silence. Was it because the topic was too hot? The author sent books to members of Congress. They not only didn’t take any action to assist veterans, they never even acknowledged receiving the book and were silent about it. Dr. Hunter is part of a group of mostly military people interviewed for a documentary film to be released soon. The title is “Women of War: The Shocking Truth about America’s Military Sexual Trauma.” Maybe the time is right and the message will get out and something will be done to assist the veterans whose abuse has been ignored far too long. I’m not sure what has changed in thirteen years but finally the men and women who were and still are being abused are at last telling their stories and they are being heard. The book is, unfortunately, as relevant today as when we first published it. “Honor Betrayed, Sexual Abuse in America’s Military. Until next time…. Carole

The Kellermans and Passover

2013-03-25T15:46:13+00:00

With Passover approaching I was thinking about the remarkable Kellermans and how much coincidence affects the direction of our lives. Some years ago a young man, very self-confident, came to our office that was then on Fifth Avenue and 20th Street in Manhattan. He wanted a job. There was no job. But he was insistent that he could be an important part of the still young Barricade Books. His name was Sam Kellerman. Sam was quite a fellow. With all of his youthful confidence he talked himself into a job. And Lyle took him under his wing. Sam was given the sort of tasks that interns and new hires are given – whatever needed to be done, he did. He was eager and very smart. He also did copyediting on various books. Sam told us about his family. He was one of four sons of Henry and Linda and grew up on Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village. The four brothers, Sam, Max, Harry and Jack were all quite remarkable. All talented, and very close.While not particularly observant Jews, they celebrated Jewish holidays Like Chanukah and Passover, and every summer they all went to Yiddish camp where they learned the language. Henry is fluent in Yiddish and appeared in Yiddish theater as a young man. His performance archive is housed at the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA, as well as at YIVO in New York City and will be available at DOROT, the Yiddish/Jewish division of the New York Public Library. As Passover was approaching, Sam invited us to their family Seder. Knowing that Lyle was an atheist, Sam nevertheless was persistent. “This is not a regular Seder. It is a Seder with interesting people who will be sharing their stories. There will be more stimulating stories than ritual. Promise.” We accepted. Sam described the Seder as secular, not religious. The focus would be on universal themes derived from the Passover story. He promised this would be fast, with good conversation and good food.We arrived and the table was set for the Passover meal. On each plate was a Haggadah. I learned later that it was the personal Haggadah written by Henry Kellerman. I picked one up and flipped through the pages. A lot of pages. “Hmmm” I thought, “this is going to be a long night.” And it was. And it was very special. The guests around the table were, as promised, fascinating people and the conversation was lively. The night of that Seder we met Henry Kellerman, a psychoanalyst, the head of the family and his wife Linda, a talented artist. We also met the other Kellerman sons: Max, Jack, and Harry. They are all accomplished in their fields of endeavor. Max has a popular radio show In Los Angeles, “Max and Marcellus” on ESPN radio covering sports and everything else. Harry is a screenwriter, actor, director whose first script will soon be produced and he’ll be directing it. Jack has his own company and writes, edits and produces videos for TV streaming and other venues and is straddling his business with the movie industry. They all live in and around Los Angeles. Dear Sam, who set in motion this scenario, died tragically, as a young man. The world of publishing is a small world but has a certain allure. Once you say you are a publisher, everyone has a book they are writing. And so it was that Sam’s father, Henry, was not only a respected psychoanalyst, he was a writer of professional books. Henry also had a talent for popular writing and now you know where this is going. We became friends and have been publishing some of Henry’s books – two are non-fiction: “Hollywood Movies On the Couch: A Psychoanalyst Examines 15 Famous Films” and “Greedy, Cowardly and Weak, Hollywood’s Jewish Stereotypes.” The most recent is a novel, a psychological thriller, “The Making of Ghosts” with a psychologist as the main character. So, here’s my advice: If you receive an invitation to a Seder…at the home of a new friend…go. You never know who you’ll meet or what will happen. Happy Passover. Carole

February 2013

2013-02-03T20:12:34+00:00

ED KOCH When I heard the news of Ed Koch’s being hospitalized again last week, I looked out the window of my apartment in Ft. Lee at New York Presbyterian Hospital. I silently thought, “that’s probably the last time.” And so on February 1st, the news of Edward I. Koch’s death appeared on Page One of the New York Times, and went on at great length about his career. Articles suggested Koch was both admired and detested, but all agreed he was one of the more colorful people in New York politics. I knew him as one of our authors. Barricade published his GIULIANI: NASTY MAN in 1991. It is a collection of articles Koch wrote for the New York Post and New York Daily News chronicling Giuliani’s two terms in office. Koch thought Giuliani was a good administrator but believed he had a tyrannical streak, a nastiness, that was an impediment to effective governing. We came to know Koch by way of Allen G. Schwartz, who was Lyle’s partner when Barricade Books started. Within a few years he was appointed a federal court judge and gave up his association with Barricade. Allen was Koch’s law partner when they were both new attorneys. They shared one desk, sitting opposite each other in a very modest office. As Koch’s political career grew he promised Allen that one day Koch would be mayor of New York and Allen’s son, David, would have his bar mitzvah party in Gracie Mansion. He kept that promise. Allen remained one of Koch’s closest friends and after the first mayoral win, Koch called him the morning after his inauguration and asked Allen, “What job do you want?” Allen took only a moment to respond, ”Corporation Counsel,” and Koch granted him his wish. They remained great friends until Allen’s death in 2003. Koch, who was remembered by many for his standby remark, “How’m I doing?” was a great promoter of himself and his books. We had a book signing for GIULIANI: NASTY MAN at Bookends, a terrific independent bookstore in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where he sold more than 160 copies. People were lined up outside the store waiting to get in to buy a book and listen to his stories. I will always remember him as a good guy. SCIENTOLOGY…. A recent book, “GOING CLEAR: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief” by Lawrence Wright exposing the Church of Scientology just appeared on the New York Times best seller list high up on the non-fiction list. Good job! Many of the readers of this blog will not be surprised that Barricade had its own expose of Scientology written by Bent Corydon and published in 1996. Corydon had left Scientology and wrote about the Church as a number of other ex-Scientologists had done. The run-up to publication was quite an adventure, much of it unpleasant. I went with Lyle to the celebrity headquarters of Scientology in Hollywood where they put on a great show trying to convince him not to publish the book. If you knew Lyle, you would know it only made him more eager to publish. In the months before publishing, Scientologists were turning up in the parking lot of our offices in Secaucus, N.J. and also in front of our apartment building in Fort Lee in an attempt to discourage bringing the book out. They are determined “good soldiers” who work for their Church. They use threats and intimidation against those who write about them in any negative way. What they didn’t realize was that Lyle was fearless. And, of course, Barricade published the book. There’s an interesting aspect to the story. When Lyle came out of military service after World War II, with the help of the G.I. Bill he took a few writing classes at New York’s New School. In his class were such budding writers as William Styron, Mario Puzo and, yes, L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard, went on to his first success as a science fiction writer. But back then he said to Lyle, “If you really want to get rich, you should start a religion.” Until next time Carole

Hot News January 2013

2013-01-02T18:12:37+00:00

HOT NEWS January, 2013 “And now let us welcome the New Year, Full of things that have never been." Rainer Maria Rilke A brief look back… at 2012 and a hopeful look forward to 2013 HURRICANE SANDY A disaster never before experienced by those who live in the Metropolitan New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Staten Island and nearby states. It destroyed many homes and businesses in places close to water where there was no power. Many homes are still uninhabitable. How weird it was in New York City where the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was flooded with seawater. Apartments at the Battery were disabled while at the same time the Upper West Side was another world entirely, untouched. My view south from our apartment building, lucky not to lose power, was total darkness that persisted for more than a week. “Sandy” brought forth the spirit of community and charity. Friends who were displaced camped out in apartments that were not damaged by the storm. Just plain folks volunteered to help neighbors in any way they could --packed boxes of disaster relief goods ranging from diapers and soap to canned goods and blankets and baby toys. The New York Food Bank in the Bronx, The Community Food Bank of New Jersey are only two of many organizations, that were filled with volunteers. In the Bronx, at the end of one half day more than 1300 boxes were packed that would help 3000 people. That was just one day and one organization. Many people got themselves to where help was needed – Staten Island, The Rockaways, Long Beach, The Jersey Shore… to lend a hand. DEPARTURES Good people I knew died this past year - some I’ve already mentioned but are worth noting again. Mike McGrady, whose international best seller, NAKED CAME THE STRANGER Barricade published. A brilliantly choreographed hoax written by twenty-four newspaper reporters from Long Island’s Newsday, each writing a sexy, funny chapter in a book that became an international best seller. He was also the co-author of two books with Linda Lovelace: ORDEAL and OUT OF BONDAGE Donald Smith, in recent years started the Mabel Mercer Foundation that each year produces a week of cabaret music that has boosted the careers of performers like Karen Akers, KT Sullivan, Barbara Carroll, Steve Ross, and Andrea Marcovicci to name just a few. In an earlier career Donald was a brilliant publicist. Years ago Citadel Press published THEY HAD FACES THEN, an oversized coffee table book illustrated with photos of the most famous stars in Hollywood written by John Springer, also a top PR man. Donald arranged a party at the now gone Rainbow Room. There was non-stop music, dancing on the famous revolving dance floor and lavish food and drink. The hosts were Henry Fonda and Joan Crawford. The cost: only $1500. How he managed that, we never found out. Donald was loved and charmed by many who were eager to sing a few songs and hope to become famous. Many did. Helen Gurley Brown, whose SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL made history and was republished by Barricade Books along with SEX IN THE OFFICE, was not only a legend but a great gal. She and her beloved husband, David Brown, were the nicest people and great sports. We also published David’s THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IS THE BEST OF YOUR LIFE. Both of them would willingly travel to towns far from New York City to promote their books. Patrick (Bob) O’Connor, who many knew as Pat, and was Uncle Bob to a large, loving family, was a legend in book publishing, having worked at Washington Square Press, Pinnacle Books, Popular Library, New American Library and Warner Books. (He certainly got around.) He published Ayn Rand, (Father) Andrew M. Greeley, Lincoln Kirstein and Janet Flanner among many others. He wrote as well and in a memoir told the story of taking up skiing at the age of about 65. A friend convinced him to try. He described going down the easiest hill on skis as wide as ironing boards. By the time he reached the bottom, he was hooked. He soon became a ski instructor and for years took up winter residence at Killington in Vermont where, as he described, he specialized in teaching the old and infirm. He was funny, and smart and generous. At his memorial his family talked about “Uncle Bob” who never forgot a birthday, sent cards and whatever else he thought might be of interest to a long list of friends and relatives, and was a frequent visitor to his extended family of nieces and nephews. He was a poet too. His “No Poem for Fritz” was published in 1978 by Colorado Quarterly ARRIVALS Moving from the past to the present, I wish a big welcome to the babies of friends, and relatives and pals, some recently born, others a bit older. Their smooth faces and bright eyes and ready smiles should make us optimistic about the future. I only mention first names of the parents to honor their privacy, even if many are on Facebook for the world to see. Jeff and Rachel welcomed twin boys Jack Thomas and Benjamin Marshall who are growing rapidly and keeping the family very busy. Amy and Michelle‘s Conrad is not so little any more but is very cute. Holly and Dan’s darling Talia Jeanne will always remind me of her grandma, Jeanne. A bi-coastal baby girl made doting grandparents of Joan and Skip. Matt and Dawn’s Sebastian and James are close cousins to Arianna and Billy’s son Benjamin – all west coasters who add to our extended family full of lively boys. This list of children closes with my niece Carla’s twin boys, Daniel and Benjamin, growing and thriving and my daughter Jen and son-in-law Brad’s family of three boys, Dylan, Justin and Jackson whose little sister, Sloane completes their family. Until next time, a poem by Patrick O’Connor from the above mentioned book: GOING BLIND Father Lynch, that wise and holy man, used to say In the dark depths of the Saturday confessional: “If you continue to masturbate you will go crazy.” He was absolutely right. God rest his soul… My best wishes for a Happy New Year !

You Can Dance a Tango…Easy

2012-08-14T01:15:26+00:00

When Helen Gurley Brown’s name is mentioned, her famous ground-breaking book, SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL is always spoken in the same breath. As it was in the obits for Helen who died this week (August 13th) at the venerable age of 90. Her devoted husband, David Brown, died in 2010. He was 94. I don’t know how many would associate Helen with Argentine tango, but here goes. A few years ago, Helen and David, and Lyle and I, met for dinner. Lyle went on about my obsession with tango. I had been taking lessons for years with Paul Pellicoro and dressing up nights to go tango dancing. Helen was intrigued. I made her an offer. “I’ll treat you to a lesson with Paul. He’s wonderful. You’ll love it.” She took me up on the offer. I suggested she keep taking lessons with Paul, but being famously thrifty, she thought he charged too much. Months later, on one of the morning television shows they were doing a piece about how people can enjoy life at an age when most would be thinking of retirement. And there was Helen. And she was in a tight red dress. On television. Doing the tango! What a gal!

OLD BOOKS, NEW AGAIN

2012-06-10T15:52:10+00:00

After I wrote about Mike McGrady, there was a burst of interest in the book that Mike choreographed and became a best seller, NAKED CAME THE STRANGER. After Hot News and the widespread report of his death, interest started coming in about the book. As of this date we have made an arrangement for a digital edition to be rushed out by Jane Friedman’s dynamic new company, Open Road Media. There will also be an audio release by Audible. Our edition has been available in the UK by Turnaround, our distributor. I expect they’ll see a bump in sales. All in all, an old book has new life. **** What follows is a piece about a young man who worked for us for a brief time. He was not the ordinary fellow. We were so impressed by Matt Kent, Lyle asked him to work for Barricade and he came on board as our youngest Publicity Director at the time, at the age of 22. He was a very independent spirit. Very creative, too. We published his book “gasstationthoughts” demonstrating talent and a unique voice. His employment didn’t last very long but we kept in touch. Now 35, he has taken his writing career to the next level. Although he still goes by his nom de plume, Wheeler Antabanez, Matt is making quite a name for himself these days writing for Weird NJ magazine. His stories and videos about abandoned buildings have been featured regularly in the magazine and WNJ published a special issue about his adventures on the Passaic River. The special edition called Nightshade on the Passaic follows Matt on his trips down the river in his canoe through urban blight and toxic pollution. In his latest story for the magazine he recovers discarded gravestones from the banks of the Passaic River in Newark. To find out more about Matt Kent's comings and goings take a look at his website. http://luckycigarette.com **** I close this Hot News with a piece about Paul Krassner, a friend of many years. For the very few people out there who don’t know the influence of Paul Krassner, I’ll bring you up to speed briefly. Paul started publishing “The Realist” in 1958. This free thought ground-breaking satirical magazine drew its audience from the very hip readers and writers of the time. He was a key figure in the counterculture of the 1960’s with Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters…and was a founding member of the Yippies. Paul was a protégé of Lenny Bruce whose autobiography, HOW TO TALK DIRTY AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE he edited. His bold face, trouble making friends included, Abbie Hoffman, Tim Leary, Mort Sahl to name only a few. He very briefly edited Larry Flynt’s Hustler magazine but when Larry got shot, there was a cash-flow problem and Althea, Larry’s wife, had to fire him. I got to know Paul by way of Lyle when I started working as a gal-Friday (there’s a term you don’t hear these days) for Lyle Stuart, Inc. Paul was working on another floor at 225 Lafayette Street sometimes surrounded by cartons. I was good friends with Jeanne Johnson Paul’s former wife and mother of Holly Krassner, their daughter. Even after they were no longer together, they had an amicable relationship. Jeanne and I worked together and Holly was an occasional baby sitter for Jenni, my daughter. (When I think about how Holly was only a few years older than Jen I can’t believe it. But she was a very mature kid. That’s Holly, not Jen.) The article that follows was written by Paul about his 80th birthday. It is how the expanded and updated edition of his autobiography, "Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut: Misadventures in the Counterculture," will end. The new edition will be published by Soft Skull Press in October and will be available in an audio version produced by Audible. I admire Paul’s energy. He’s just put the finishing touches on "The Best of Paul Krassner: 50 Years of Investigative Satire." • • • • “When I mentioned to my daughter Holly that on April 9, 2012, I would be eighty years old, she said, “Dad, that’s crazy.” “I know,” I said, “but you can’t fight chronology.” To celebrate the occasion, we had a family reunion. My brother and his wife came from Maine, my sister came from Florida, and Holly and her husband Dan came from Napa with their adopted-at-birth three-month-old baby, Talia Jeanne Dawson. Holly and Dan had been present in the delivery room, and he cut the umbilical cord. The highlight of my birthday was meeting my granddaughter for the first time. While I held Talia in my lap, Holly put the radio on for some music, and Talia started conducting. Holly turned the radio off and Talia stopped conducting. Holly turned the radio back on and Talia began conducting again. I showed Holly The Onion’s review of the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards: “The first ‘pre-show performance,’ by someone called Cobra Starship. Because I am very old, I experience a shiver of terror at the thought that they might be the latest iteration of the cryogenically frozen leftovers of Jefferson Airplane. They turn out to be a briskly paced anthology of everything I thought was cool when I was nine: shiny pants, sunglasses insouciantly thrown aside, fog machines, lots of G-rated writhing. I am not entirely sure that the disembodied head of Paul Krassner isn't directing all this from behind the wings . . .” I remarked, “To become a joke reference is even a bigger honor than my PEN lifetime achievement award.” And Holly said, “A good joke lasts longer than a lifetime achievement award.” Until next time….. Carole

STRANGER THAN NAKED - Mike McGrady

2012-05-15T15:09:45+00:00

Mike McGrady, who had been a prizewinning reporter for Long Island’s Newsday died a few days ago in Lilliwaup, Washington. He was 78. Many readers of Hot News will know about NAKED CAME THE STRANGER, one of the most talked about literary hoaxes in America. It was supposedly written by a demure Long Island housewife but was actually a collection of tawdry, tacky, funny and sexy pieces written by 24 reporters who wrote for Newsday. You can get the story of the book elsewhere but less known, and worth repeating, is how it all came about. Mike came to the office of Lyle Stuart, Inc. and hatched the plan. His sister-in-law, Billie Young, would bring the novel to our office and pose as the author. Each chapter was written in the style of that reporter’s beat: the crime reporter wrote about sex with a mobster, others wrote chapters about sex with a rabbi, a toll booth attendant and so on. The aim was to write as bluntly and tackily as Jacqueline Susann and other similar novelists of the day. Mike had promised the exclusive story to a handful of newspaper pals if they promised not to run it until he gave them the okay. Well, the book started to sell…all by itself without revealing the truth. Before long, he couldn’t hold off the reporters and stories appeared everywhere – nationwide newspaper coverage. That was quickly followed by Walter Cronkite helicoptering out to Long Island to do an interview with however many of the writers Mike could wrangle. I was a very young gal at the time doing publicity. In most cases, publicity people have to beg and plead to get a story. In this case the phone never stopped ringing. NBC, CBS, ABC, magazines, radio, television. It quickly went viral and soon there was international coverage and many foreign translations. It was great fun. The kicker was this. When the contract was put together Lyle asked Mike if he had releases from everyone who participated in the book. All told, there were 24 participants. There are only 14 chapters in the book, but everyone of the group was part of the profits. “What about your sister-in-law?” Lyle asked. “Don’t worry about her, she’s family,” Mike said. You might guess what happened next. As the book took off, Billie Young (aka Penelope Ashe, the non-de-plume, refused to turn over the royalties. Her name was on the contract and she didn’t want any part of sharing. Much family turmoil ensued but eventually it was sorted out. I don’t think any of the 24 got rich but they got checks regularly for a long time. Billie Young, having had a taste of literary fame went on to write her own books – using the name Penelope Ashe. Mike was a delight. He brought two more best sellers to us: Linda Lovelace’s “Ordeal” and a follow up book, “Out of Bondage.” Farewell, friend. It was a great time.

March, 2012

2012-03-19T19:04:34+00:00

NEW BOOKS When you hear the name Raoul Felder the immediate connection is…Divorce. It could be a dictionary definition of the man. That, as it turns out, is only one aspect of Raoul Felder. He is a gifted writer and we will soon be publishing his autobiography. We met when Raoul participated on a panel on divorce at Fordham Law School. He mentioned he’d written his autobiography. Only knowing of his deft work on behalf of celebrities seeking divorce, I was surprised by this deeply felt, well-written book about his beginnings which were, no surprise, humble. A Brooklyn boy, brought up in Williamburg, he was the younger brother of Doc Pomus, one of the best known songwriters of the 50’s with songs like “Hushabye,” “Can’t Get Used to Loving You” and “Save The Last Dance For Me.” (That one I can remember slow dancing to.) Doc was crippled by polio as a young boy and spent his life on crutches and in a wheelchair. The impact on Raoul’s life was profound and telling the story of his brother contracting polio and the pain he went through all his life are only part of the book. Raoul started out studying Medicine in Bern, Switzerland before making a complete turnaround going on to become an internationally known attorney. His story surprised and moved me. “REFLECTIONS IN A MIRROR Of Love, Loss, Death and Divorce” will reveal a Raoul Felder not seen before. It will have a Fall 2012 publication. I LOVE PARIS IN THE WINTER – WHEN IT (DIDN’T) DRIZZLE How lucky to celebrate my birthday in Paris. That’s where I was on February 22nd. Our group of nine friends covered a lot of ground. The dress code was casual. No jackets or ties. We dined very well in Paris without getting dressed up. Home was a charming hotel in the 6th Arrondissement. We covered a lot of Paris on foot and by Metro. Our travels took us to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for a spectacular view of the city to Montmartre to mingle with the tourists (well, other tourists) and have another great view. We climbed many steps to the famed Eglise Saint-Sulpice. And went back down on foot too. My calves were aching for days afterward I was particularly interested to visit, Espace Dali, a small museum a few blocks from St. Sulpice designed by Enrique Sabater who was one of Salvador Dali’s managers. The museum was as much a tribute to Sabater as it was to Dali. Much of the art on display were works Dali had dedicated to Enrique. It was well laid out and designed so that you had to pass a shop on the way out where they were flogging a variety of lithographs, all signed and framed. We knew Enrique in the ‘70s when Dali designed 78 lithographs based on the Tarot Card deck published by Citadel Press. That was an adventure that resulted in Lyle renting a pied a terre for four years in the super chic 16th Arrondissement from Captain Peter Moore, at the time another of Dali’s managers. One outcome was a watercolor portrait of Lyle by Dali that hangs in my living room. ART, ART, ART In Paris if you’re not eating great food you can dine on fine art. We feasted on works by masters. We spent a good deal of time at the Musee D’Orsay where the newly renovated Fifth floor houses some of the most remarkable Impressionist art in the world. We also went to the Luxembourg Gardens Museum for a special show of Cezanne’s work. February was a good time to avoid crowds – even the Louvre was not crazy crowded. We got a close up look at the Mona Lisa. A special treat was an exhibit of photographs by Bereniece Abbott at the Jeu de Paume. Many of them were from the Changing New York Works Progress Administration/Federal Art Project. Abbott lived in Paris in the 1920s and also made portraits of many of the most notable and influential writers, artists, politicians and personalities of the day. The weather in Paris was remarkably mild unlike the usual cold and rainy forecasts. We ended our trip with a Croque Monsieur at Café de Flor onRue St. Germain. Just great! PASSINGS BARNEY ROSSET died this past February 21st. His accomplishments were well covered in the press. Perhaps less known was the connection between Barney and Lyle. After selling Lyle Stuart, Inc. in 1989 and having time on his hands and license to publish other books, he started Barricade Books in the rear of Barney’s office on 4th Avenue in Manhattan. They had different publishing styles but both were known as personalities. Both men went through fortunes. When Barney produced the wildly successful film, “I Am Curious Yellow” he bought a building on Mercer Street in West Greenwich Village. He furnished it lavishly with top of the line designer furnishings. He didn’t hold the building very long but it was impressive. Barney was generous too. He gifted land in the Hamptons to close friends and employees. Money was not for amassing, certainly not for Lyle. He gave generously and made loans to many people often not paid back. (I have an envelope thick with Promissory Notes.) Tired of being an easy touch, he finally printed a reminder card that he kept in his wallet: No loans to anyone for any reason. I believe when Barney sold Grove Press to Anne Getty it was a turning point for him. As entrepreneurs quickly discover, it’s not you they want – it’s your business. No matter how iconic you are – it’s about the bottom line. When Price/Stern/Sloan was sold to Putnam Berkley, Larry Sloan went to Frankfurt that year to participate in the new company. Boy, I’ll bet he was surprised to receive no great welcome for one of the creators of a vibrant company. I’m sure there are happier stories but these are memorable. I once read a comment made by Leonard Stern, the son and heir of the Hartz Mountain pet food fortune. He was talking about acquiring companies. “When the check is handed over, the previous owner goes out the door.” Harsh? I agree, but when Lyle sold Lyle Stuart, Inc. to Steven Schragis, who had invested in the successful magazine “Spy” and got the appetite for media, he offered to stay away from the office so that Schragis could assert himself. “I’ll be available any time you want to talk.” Schragis never called him. I’ve grown to think that Stern was right – take the money and move on. HOWARD KISSEL died on February 27th. He was the longtime theater critic for The Daily News. He had a sharp tongue and great wit. To quote from Anita Gates’ obit in the New York Times, “He wrote that the 1995 Roundabout revival of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company,” a quintessential Manhattan show, looked as if “it had been done by people who had never been here.” Howard had a house in Columbia County, as did I. We saw each other frequently. I thought it interesting that having to make a trip from Manhattan weekend after weekend, Howard did not drive. He usually had a friend who was available for his comings and goings. His wife, Christine, stopped coming back to Manhattan and lived full time in Philmont. She died on the same day that Lyle died in June, 2006. Also gone is DONALD SMITH whose obit appeared in many publications including the New York Times. Donald was known best in recent years for The Cabaret Convention that began at Town Hall and was a delightful not-quite-ready-for-primetime event that often lasted until 11PM. But the talent! Andrea Marcovicci, KT Sullivan, Steve Ross, Barbara Carroll, Julie Wilson and many, many more, some getting their first break with the help of Donald. He started the non-profit Mabel Mercer Foundation and eventually the event became grander and better organized and was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center. K.T. Sullivan will become the artistic director for the New York convention. It was Donald Smith who, in 1981, brought cabaret back to The Oak Room of New York’s legendary Algonquin Hotel that unfortunately, has recently closed down. In earlier years, Donald had been a top publicity man. At the time, Citadel Press was publishing a book by John Springer, “They Had Faces Then,” a coffee table book with lots of photos of the great Hollywood Stars. Donald did the publicity for the book and arranged for a party at the Rainbow Room. Music, dancing, open bar, fabulous buffet. Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda were the hosts. It was truly star studded. (There was one mishap when Butterfly McQueen was detained at the door…not recognized as a film star.) I don’t know how Donald managed it but the total cost of the party was $1500! He was a gentleman and a gentle man. I love the comment by K.T. Sullivan about Donald’s apartment: She recalled, “…sandwiched between autographed photos of Joan Crawford and Audrey Hepburn, was one of Walt Disney’s Snow White. Mr. Smith had signed it himself: “To Don: Love, Snow.” HAPPY ENDING To end this Hot News on an upbeat note – I’m pleased to announce that I’ve gotten the rights back to a book I wrote some years ago, that was published by Lyle Stuart, Inc. – WHY WAS I ADOPTED? I was Carole Livingston at the time and was assisted by illustrator Arthur Robins and designer Paul Walter. This was part of a very successful series of books that started with WHERE DID I COME FROM? and WHAT’S HAPPENING TO ME? Both were written by Peter Mayle who worked with the above Paul Walter and Arthur Robins. WHY WAS I ADOPTED? Has reverted back to me and I expect Barricade Books to publish it sometime in 2013. Until next time…… Carole

December 2011

2011-12-01T19:32:11+00:00

More about that 800-pound gorilla –Amazon These days the publishing world is divided by how people feel about Amazon. I love Amazon…really. Honestly, when they order a book, they don’t return it. Returns are the tragedy of this business. You ship the books out, promote them and hold your breath, hoping they don’t come back at you. Every so often a bright newbie to the industry comes up with a genius idea: Give booksellers a bigger discount and sell books non-returnable. Why doesn’t that work? Because if booksellers don’t want your books they won’t want them even if they are free. If they don’t sell, back they come. These days, with more people reading on e-readers, sales of actual books are declining. The good news about e-books is they don’t get returned. And sales are increasing for those who use a Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc. Still, not a happy situation for publishers who like to see their actual books on the shelves of stores. Self-Publishing It used to be you had to have a publisher if you wanted your book published. There were and are Vanity publishers who will put anything between covers (or on e-platforms) for a hefty fee. At the same time, writers are getting smarter. More writers are self-publishing. It’s easy to find a company that will design your book, cover and all, edit it, put it into composition and produce it as a digital book. Some writers are very good at self-publishing. I read about those who have sold thousands of copies of their self-published books but there are many others who have gone through the process and then what happens? Not much. To repeat myself (see the August 2011 Hot News) it’s still up to the marketing to get anyone to know you are there. Some authors are better at this than others. Often, if they haven’t been successful selling their books, they look for a traditional publisher. Backlist, Backlist, Backlist Years ago a very talented editor started a new publishing company. It was going to have only front list books. That means you only publish for “now.” But the key to keep any publishing company in business is backlist. Books that are headline driven can have very short lives. If you sell enough of them in the first go, that’s great. And best-selling authors can provide that happy situation for themselves and their publishers. Those books make it through their first appearance and many, many more printings. Barricade has always tried to publish what are called “backlist” books. Those are the ones that are introduced with a big push when they are first published. But the hope is they become backlist titles that sell and sell. Sometimes very well, sometimes modestly. Many go on for years. Some of my favorite examples: LIVING THE MARTIAL WAY by Forrest E. Morgan, Major USAF. First published in 1992, it’s still going strong twenty years later. Another favorite is ENCYCLOPEDIA OF UNUSUAL SEX PRACTICES by Brenda Love. First published, 1992. Its many foreign editions are still in print and soon there will be an Icelandic translation. As many know, we have a long list of true-crime and Mafia books. One, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLEVELAND MAFIA by Rick Porrello made its debut in 1995…nearly 17 years ago. It has been in print for years and is a consistent seller. THE COMPLETE BOOK OF US PRESIDENTS by William A. DeGregorio is now in its 7th edition. Originally copyright 1984. We update it every presidential election. A brilliant idea that I wish I could take credit for was to republish the cult classic by Helen Gurley Brown, SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL. We met Helen and David Brown and Lyle suggested bringing her book out again. Helen was pleased but concerned that we not lose any money. We re-published in 2003, a relative “child” on our list – we’ve only had it for 9 years. 2012 marks the book’s 50th anniversary from the original publication. There will be much celebrating this birthday, including a BBC Radio special that interviews many people like Letty Cottin Pogrebin, who was involved in the first edition published by Bernard Geis. We’re printing a “50th Anniversary Edition.” Before we published, I went to Helen’s office at Cosmopolitan Magazine to talk about the book. She was really the epitome of “That Cosmopolitan Girl” although a beautiful mature woman by then. Her office walls were decorated in a leopard pattern and she was dressed very sexily down to her fishnet stockings. Hearst, the publisher, in a smart move, later made her Editor of all the international editions of Cosmopolitan. She traveled all over the world as each new edition was launched. Books into Movies The fun thing about books is that some times old ones surprise you. We have activity in film options on a number of our books. In development are SHARON TATE AND THE MANSON MURDERS and MY FACE FOR THE WORLD TO SEE, a memoir by the late Liz Renay that has both movie and theatrical interest. Miss Maggie Moore, whose film work has included HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH a one-woman show based on Ann Margret and many other credits, is determined to play Liz in a musical stage production. BRONX DA, by Sarena Straus, published a few years ago, has been optioned by CBS TV as the basis for a television series. Strong women seem to be very popular on television these days. If you haven’t watched it yet, don’t miss COVERT AFFAIRS an action drama on the USA network. The name of the lead character is “Annie Walker.” Beautiful, blond and very smart. Previously mentioned is I'LL DO MY OWN DAMN KILLIN' the story of Benny Binion, under option by Nick Cassavetes and BACK DOOR CHANNELS by Leon Charney that covers the peace talks in the Jimmy Carter era. The new paperback edition coincides with the release of the movie based on the book. In addition to theaters it will soon will be broadcast on PBS television stations across the country. Option Money Option money can be good income. I recall a conversation with Melvin Van Peebles some years ago. Van Peebles made a splash with the film SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG in 1971, and over the years sold options on other projects. As the option time expired, it was often renewed -- for additional payment. Or, it could be sold to another party. It was, as he described, "a living." I’ll end with a few personal notes: My very dear friend Jeanne Johnson died this summer after a yearlong battle with cancer. Jeanne lived life on her own terms and up to the very end was funny, smart and went out of this world as she wished to – having all her friends and the wonderfully supportive woman who Jeanne worked with, come to visit her. Her son Bill and daughter, Holly, were with her as she knew time was precious. Jeanne had great style and every one of us thought she was our best friend. She was. Rory Stuart, that master of multitasking, and my stepson, is now a full-time faculty member at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Look for notice for his gigs on his website: www.rorystuart.com Until next time, my best wishes for a happy holiday, Carole

August, 2011

2011-08-09T20:07:57+00:00

The Book Business— The challenge is how to keep up with the changes. The giants in publishing are covering every base, and e-books are growing in popularity. For the record, our books are available on electronic platforms, and our monthly reports show that sales of e-books are increasing. That’s good news. 800-Pound Gorilla— Amazon is a major force in the business. You no longer have to go to a bookstore to buy a book. Go to the Amazon website, put in the title of the book you are interested in or the name of the author, and you’ll find it. What you can’t do is browse the way you can in a bookstore and discover a book that you hadn’t been aware of. Bookstores. They are ordering very cautiously. But books that you can hold in your hand remain a vital part of our business. What sells a book is still the same old word-of-mouth. If you hear about it, read about it, a friend tells you about a good book, you are more likely to buy it. Whatever the format, as long as people are buying books, we’ll be supplying them. Good news— Bruce Mowday (“JAILING THE JOHNSTON GANG”) has partnered with Jim Donahue on “Why The Hall Not? and the Amazing Ride to Cooperstown.” This just-published book about baseball’s Richie Ashburn, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, has already gone back to press for a second printing. Books are shipping now to fill back orders. Co-authors, Bruce and Jim are everywhere in Pennsylvania promoting this “feel good” book about Ashburn, a baseball hero and genuinely nice guy who finally got into the Baseball Hall of Fame, partly due to the efforts of his greatest fan, Jim. Future news— Any day now “DENNIS HOPPER: The Wild Ride of a Hollywood Rebel” by Peter Winkler will be in bookstores and available as an e-book. Last month it was featured on the Turner Classic Movie channel as their monthly Book Corner pick. Hopper lived an incredible life, was married five times - was friends with Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Natalie Wood and Peter Fonda. Publishers Weekly says “…Winkler presents Hopper’s descent into drugs, alcohol, and violence; (and) the making of Easy Rider, the seminal 1969 counterculture film…” Coda— Recently I wrote about Allan Wilson, who died a few months ago. I was friends with Allan for forty years, but only knew a part of his life. A diehard bachelor, he had lots of relatives and many of them gathered at the apartment of Jim Tannenbaum, whose generosity made Allan’s life comfortable in his last months. There were too many people to name, but everyone had an Allan story. They loved him, and he generously provided books for their particular interests. There were many stories about Allan’s love of the track and other forms of gambling— all of which undoubtedly contributed to making the casinos richer. Jim Tannenbaum told about Allan taking him to the track at Belmont one Saturday. On the way back, he said he had to make a stop. Puzzled, Jim soon learned that the stop was at an OTB where Allan placed a bet on a horse at Santa Anita. It was a love fest, and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Thank you, Jim, for the party, the great food and the delightful touch of having a terrific pianist entertain us, closing with “Luck Be a Lady Tonight” from “Guys and Dolls”—an appropriate song for raising a glass to Allan J. Wilson. Short takes— A few years ago we published I’LL DO MY OWN DAMN’ KILLIN’, a bio of Benny Binion by Gary W. Sleeper. Binion, famous for the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas and the patron saint of the World Series of Poker, was a horse trader, a bootlegger, and the “boss gambler” of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. He was a real rough guy who admitted to killing a couple of guys. Now, Benny may have his story turned into a major film. We just optioned it to Nick Cassavetes who has appeared as an actor in a number of films such as “The Substitute” and “Backdoor Dreams” and is also a director, “She’s So Lovely” and “The Notebook.” Last minute news— We are rushing into a print a prepublication edition of Leon Charney’s “BACK DOOR CHANNELS: The Price of Peace” to coincide with a mid-September screening of the documentary film of the same name. The book and film reveal the story of the interplay between the official government channels and those who acted largely behind the scenes of the first Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel that began during the Jimmy Carter administration. Variety, in a review of the film, quoted Stuart E. Eizenstat as saying that all of Carter’s advisers warned him that getting involved in such a contentious foreign conflict would be political suicide. One thing to take away from the documentary is “…the tragic realization that not one American politician of (Carter’s) stature has been similarly willing to risk their future to push for peace.” On the Road— If you want to live vicariously, follow the bicycle journey of New York Times writer Bruce Weber. As I write this, Bruce is biking from Portland, Oregon, to New York, repeating a journey he made 18 years ago when he was 39. He’s now 57. He is marking his 25th anniversary at the Times with this adventure and blogging about it. You can follow and Tweet him at nytbruceweber. Go Bruce! Personal news— I’ll indulge myself a bit to celebrate the arrival on June 20 of my fifth grandchild, Miss Sloane Dara Kern. She joins her brothers, Dylan, Justin and Jackson, and parents Brad and Jen Kern. Ms. Sloane is the first girl in a long run of boys in our family that includes grand nephews and cousins. Until next time . . . Carole