Al-Qaeda Book Money to Go to Charity
by Steven Zeitchik, PW Newsline -- Publishers Weekly, 1/24/2005
The news this week that Doubleday has acquired a book based on the writings of the al-Qaeda braintrust--first broken in NewsLine on Wednesday--has reverberated through the industry. Look for our full analysis in next week's magazine, but in the meantime, some small bits.
Today Doubleday said that it would donate the net income from the book's sales to a soon-to-be-disclosed charity, after some had questioned the move. PublicAffairs president Peter Osnos said that he'd only be comfortable doing a book like this if it meant putting the money back into publishing other books that provide context on al-Qaeda. "If you're simply a pass-through between Osama bin Laden and his friends and the American consumer, that strikes me as a fairly narrow definition of what a publisher should do."As it happens, it's not the first al-Qaeda book to come out in this country. North Atlantic Books last year published What Does Al Qaeda Want?, a series of communiqués from Al Qaeda leaders with left-y commentary by a doctoral student. Publisher Richard Grossinger noted that, "Some channels have not taken the book," but that the sales have been "pretty broad."
And speaking of bent, agent Glen Hartley is known for conservative clients, while editor Adam Bellow is a noted conservative who has pubbed the likes of Allan Bloom. Given the parties involved, one observer familiar with political publishing wondered if the effect, if not the intent, of the book would be tilted Doubleday says that the book will "have no political bent whatsoever."
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