Kensington Drops POW Author
by Felicia Pride, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 5/2/2007
Kensington Books has cancelled publication of I'm Still Standing, the story of Shoshana Johnson, the first black American female prisoner of war, and is demanding she return her advance, claiming she violated her contract by failing to obtain proper photo releases.
Johnson disputes Kensington's claims, contending that she fulfilled her contractural obligations and is entitled to keep the advance. She would also like to find a new publisher for her completed manuscript. In 2003, Johnson and four other soldiers in her unit (including Jessica Lynch, who was kept at a separate location) were held for 22 days by Iraqi forces. She was shot in both legs before being rescued by U.S. Marines.Johnson told PW that she submitted her completed manuscript on time in December 2006, but Kensington notified her later that it was cancelling the book because of the lack of photo releases. Johnson claims she submitted more than the requested number of photos, along with the proper releases.
Cancelling a book over photo releases is unusual, and Johnson believes that Kensington simply expected her to write a different book, despite ongoing editorial discussions between Johnson; her co-writer, Paul Brown; and Kensington editor Michaela Hamilton. Johnson said Kensington wanted the book to have a more religious emphasis, which made her uncomfortable. She said Kensington also wanted the book to include personal conversations between her and fellow captives Lori Ann Piestewa, who was killed, and Jessica Lynch, whose story was chronicled in I Am a Soldier Too. Johnson says she considered those conversations confidential.
In an e-mail statement , Hamilton wrote, "All of us at Kensington were disappointed that Ms. Johnson failed to deliver the materials she had contractually agreed to deliver for the book.We had signed up her story with high hopes and enthusiasm. Her non-delivery led to the termination of the agreement."
Karen Thomas, an executive editor at Grand Central Publishing who originally acquired the book in 2006 during her tenure at Kensington, said, "The book was supposed to be a story about Shoshana's captivity, her life, and what kept her strong through captivity. It was a chance for her to tell her story." Thomas saw some chapters of the book, but not the finished manuscript.
Johnson's agent Craig Wiley has shown the manuscript to other publishers, without success. Johnson is concerned publishers do not believe she can generate the publicity needed to make the book successful. "I feel what I wrote was exactly my story, how I felt and how I dealt with things,"Johnson said. "Everyone is telling me what happened to me in Iraq, and I wanted to set the record straight in my book."
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