Tag Archives: profiles in publishing

29Jan | '13

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Profiles in Publishing: The Harper Brothers

By Liz Janetschek | Published: January 29, 2013

James and John Harper, the two eldest Harper brothers, founded J & J Harper in 1817. They were joined by their two younger brothers, Joseph Wesley and Fletcher, in the mid-1820s. The house’s name was subsequently changed to Harper & Brothers. Their breakthrough title was Maria Monk’s Awful Disclosures, which detailed the sexual exploitation of a Catholic nun. After the success of this (admittedly, pretty dark) book, the oldest and the youngest Harper finished out their careers extremely differently. Name: Fletcher Harper Birthdate/place: January 31, 1806, Newton, NY Publisher Associated With: ... Read more

0 Comments | Category: Industry Insight | Tags: Aweful Disclosures, Fletcher Harper, Harper & Brothers, Harper's Magazine, HarperCollins, James Harper, Joseph Wesley Harper, Maria Monk, new york, profiles in publishing

8Jan | '13

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Profiles in Publishing: Bennett Cerf

By Liz Janetschek | Published: January 8, 2013

Name: Bennett Cerf Birthdate/Place: May 25, 1898, New York, NY Publisher Associated With: Random House Claim to Fame: Cerf began his literary career by being named the vice president of publishing firm Boni & Liveright. He and his business partner, Donald Klopfer, purchased a Boni & Liveright imprint called the Modern Library in 1925. They increased the imprint’s popularity, and then began publishing their own books, selected at ‘random’, in 1927–hence the name, “Random House“. Random House eventually became a parent company of the Modern Library. Cerf and Random House worked with ... Read more

0 Comments | Category: Industry Insight | Tags: atlas shrugged, ayn rand, bela lugosi, bennett cerf, boni & liveright, censorship, donald klopfer, dr seuss, dracula, edward van sloan, eugene o'neill, james joyce, profiles in publishing, Random House, the modern library, truman capote, ulysses, us v one book called ulysses, van helsing, william faulkner

19Dec | '12

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Profiles in Publishing: Liz Calder

By Liz Janetschek | Published: December 19, 2012

Name: Liz Calder Birthdate/Place: January 20, 1938, London Publisher Associated With: Bloomsbury Claim to Fame: While she began her literary career at Cape, Liz Calder felt bigger things calling by the mid-1980s. She cofounded Bloomsbury, which remains one of the most successful independent publishing houses. And this remarkable woman seems to have quite the Midas touch when it comes to literature: she picked up the Harry Potter series, as well as edited Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children (1981), Anita Brookner’s Hotel du Lac (1984), Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient (1992) and Margaret Atwood’s The Blind ... Read more

0 Comments | Category: Industry Insight, Professional Paths | Tags: biba, bloomsbury, brazil, cape, Harry Potter, hotel du lac, liz calder, midnight's children, model, paco rabane, profiles in publishing, salman rushdie, the blind assassin, the english patient

17Dec | '12

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Internviews: The End of the Road for Liz Janetschek

By Liz Janetschek | Published: December 17, 2012

Liz, our fantastic fall intern, bid us farewell last week. Like all our interns, we know she’s bound for great things. But before riding off into that promising professional sunset, we asked her to reflect a bit on what she’s gained (or uncovered) in the course of a not-quite-traditional publishing internship. Here’s what she had to say: What specific tasks or projects completed across the semester do you feel were most valuable to your professional development? Writing online articles and managing our blog helped me professionally so ... Read more

0 Comments | Category: Industry Insight, Professional Paths | Tags: articles, Frankfurt Book Fair, Hofstra University, internview, liz janetschek, profiles in publishing, social media

11Dec | '12

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Profiles in Publishing: Sylvia Beach

By Liz Janetschek | Published: December 11, 2012

Name: Sylvia Beach Birthdate/Place: March 14, 1887, Baltimore, Maryland Bookseller /Publisher Associated With: Shakespeare and Company Claim to Fame: American-born, Sylvia Beach first arrived in Paris at age 15, after her father Sylvester’s appointment as the assistant minister of the American Church in Paris. She moved back to America at age 18, but was unable to resist the pull of Europe, and soon moved back. Here, she discovered (her future partner) Adrienne Monnier’s bookstore, Maison des Amis des Livres. Inspired, Beach wanted to bring a branch of Monnier’s bookstore to New ... Read more

0 Comments | Category: Industry Insight | Tags: adrienne monnier, ernest hemingway, fall of paris, james joyce, maison des amis des livres, paris, profiles in publishing, shakespeare and company, sylvia beach, ulysses, WWII

4Dec | '12

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Profiles in Publishing: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

By Liz Janetschek | Published: December 4, 2012

Name: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Birthdate/Place: July 28, 1929, Southampton, NY Publishers Associated With: Viking Press, Doubleday Claim to Fame: Jackie Kennedy is, quite obviously, most well-known for her position as First Lady from 1961-63 during the presidency of her husband, John F. Kennedy. However, after the death of her second husband, shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, Jackie was offered a position as a consulting editor at Viking Press by an old friend. She worked there for two years before resigning over a bit of a scandalous snafu–a book was published under her (which she claimed ... Read more

2 Comments | Category: Industry Insight | Tags: aristotle onassis, doubleday, editor, jackie kennedy, jackie o, jacqueline kennedy onassis, john f kennedy, profiles in publishing, southampton, ted kennedy, viking press

20Nov | '12

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Profiles in Publishing: Richard L. Simon and Max Schuster

By Liz Janetschek | Published: November 20, 2012

Names: Richard L. Simon, Max Schuster Publisher Associated With: Simon & Schuster Claim to Fame: Richard Simon’s aunt noted that it was frustrating to wait until Sunday for crossword puzzles–there were no book-length collections of them available at that time. Simon and his business partner, Max Schuster cornered an untapped area of the market for gaming books, publishing the first editions of Coue, Bananas, Mah Jong, and the 1st crossword puzzle book. Simon and Schuster also originated the ideas for returning unsold copies of books to publishers for credit, and founded Pocket Books, the first ... Read more

0 Comments | Category: Industry Insight | Tags: bananas, carly simon, coue, crossword puzzle, editor, herman wouk, lucy simon, mah jong, max schuster, musical, pocket books, profiles in publishing, publisher, richard l. simon, Simon & Schuster, the caine mutiny, the secret garden

13Nov | '12

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Profiles in Publishing: Maxwell Perkins

By Liz Janetschek | Published: November 13, 2012

Welcome to Publishing Trendsetter’s newest feature, Profiles in Publishing! Though we almost always look to the current & future situations of the publishing industry to better understand how to adapt to changes within it, it is important to acknowledge the rich (and almost always entertaining) past of this inspiring business. We’ll share some of the most influential figures in the business, and we start with one of the most famous editors of all time. Name: Maxwell Perkins Birthdate/Place: September 20, 1884, New York City Publisher Associated With: Scribner’s Claim to Fame: Often ... Read more

0 Comments | Category: Industry Insight | Tags: a. scott berg, colin firth, editor, editor of genius, ernest hemingway, f.scott fitzgerald, film, film adaptation, look homeward angel, marjorie kinnan rawlings, maxwell perkins, michael fassbender, national book award, profiles in publishing, publishing profile, scribner's, The Great Gatsby, the sun also rises, thomas wolfe, yearnings