June Shocker: Karp to Leave Random

by Steven Zeitchik, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 6/8/2005

So much for a quiet post-BEA week. Jon Karp, arguably publishing's biggest wunderkind and one of its highest-profile (and occasionally controversial) figures, is leaving Random House.

The company gave little official context for the departure of the editor-in-chief; in a memo, Random president and publisher Gina Centrello said only that Karp "wants to take on bigger and broader publishing challenges."

But several sources noted that Karp had been interested in more of a publisher role at the house, with more control over business matters like marketing budgets, and that there had been tension with Little Random executives over this. Spokesperson Carol Schneider said only that, "It's regrettable we couldn't see eye-to-eye on what his role would be." Insiders said that the unusual division-of-labor between EIC Karp and executive EIC Daniel Menaker was not a factor.

For his part, Karp framed the decision as a matter of preferences more than politics. "It's a personal decision. I wanted to turn a new chapter in my life," he said. "I have great respect for my colleagues at Random and the authors here and this is just something I feel I need to do."

He said attempts to speculate about the reason for his departure were likely to be off-base. "I'm sure you're going to hear a lot of things. There's probably some element of truth to all of them. [But] I don't want to reduce it to one simple thing. Sometimes you just need to take a leap, and I want to take a leap." Asked if he indeed wants to be a publisher, he cited a Po Bronson book he edited, What Should I Do With My Life? and said, laughing, "I'm going to be re-reading that book very carefully."

All of the editors who previously reported to Karp--they include Jennifer Hershey, Susan Mercandetti ands a host of others--will now report to Menaker, and the house isn't replacing Karp with a new editor-in-chief. Kate Medina and Bob Loomis will continue to report to Centrello.

Asked about his new expanded role, Menaker said that, "I look forward to taking on the new responsibilities; they're serious and I hope to discharge them with every ounce of energy that I have. But I also understand with a division and company as large as this it will be necessary to share those responsibilities with other people here."

The news comes as Random prepares for what many feel will be a big fall that features the likes of new books by E.L. Doctorow and John Irving.

While Karp gave a presentation at BEA that had no tells a change was in the works, some say the situation had been coming to a head for at least a few weeks--though even some insiders didn't expect it would go down today.

Karp has had a mixed record in his year-long tenure as editor-in-chief. Many herald him as a savvy editor whose editorial chops and taste are impeccable. Some, however, have raised questions about his management style. Tension with at least one editor, Lee Boudreaux, is reported to have resulted in her departure earlier this year.

Karp is also feverishly intense about his books, the most well-known of which are the narrative non-fiction titles he helped make an essential part of the Random list beginning in the late '90's. As recently as his BEA presentation, he showcased his trademark enthusiasm, comparing two new Random books to The Da Vinci Code and The Catcher in the Rye. His rise has been meteoric even by wunderkind standards--in six years he went from senior editor to the head of publishing's most prestigious imprint.

Karp has left Random before, of course, for a brief stint at Scott Rudin, only to return several months later. Which leads to the next parlor game: Guess where Jon will go. Several publisher names came to the lips of seasoned observers, while a possible publisher spot within Random House Inc., once thought a possibility, is now considered a long-shot.

And Karp himself? For the moment, at least, he is being coy. "I just want to take a new risk. I honestly don't know what it will be. It may be book publishing, it may be something else." Then he added, "Right now I just want to take some time to think and read."