Hot Deals: A Rushdie to Judgment on le Carre Defection?
Judy Quinn -- 6/22/98
Perhaps, although paranoia and conspiracy theories seem fitting when considering any move by Cold War spy thriller author John le Carre who surprised the industry last week by leaving Knopf, his U.S. publisher of nearly 30 years. Media and publishers buzzed that perhaps the author's much-publicized feud with Salman Rushdie played a part in le Carre departure, given president Sonny Mehta's past editing of and relationship with Rushdie; but le Carre's lawyer Michael Rudell, who is stepping in as agent now that le Carre has fired Lynn Nesbit, told PW that "this has nothing to do with Rushdie." Perhaps so; sources told PW that the manuscript for le Carre's newest book, an international banking thriller called Single and Single, would not likely be under submission at Holt, now Rushdie's U.S. publisher, if anti-Rushdie sentiment was le Carre's primary motivation to jump ship. The real factor is more likely the disappointing sales of recent le Carre books. For The Night Manager, published in 1993, Knopf had reported to PW a respectable in-print figure of about 350,000 copies hardcover and one million paperback, but the book was signed for a $5-million advance for U.S. hard/soft rights. Le Carre's most recent, The Tailor of Panama, sold less than The Night Manager, according to Knopf sources, and was attacked for anti-Semitism.But with a literary brand name rarely on the block, and with the recent success of the international banking thriller Numbered Account by Christopher Reich, many of the publishers who had received the manuscript (reportedly Putnam, Little, Brown and Scribner, as well as Holt) were expected to offer bids on the book, due to Rudell by last Thursday. Speculation exists that Putnam would be a leading contender since Viking Penguin Canada is the option holder of the new title there, and thus perhaps a new U.S./ Canada deal could be made, to justify higher advance numbers. But publishers told PW that bids would be less than $5 million. Back To News---> |
