OUP Does It Again

The venerable Oxford University Press is boasting a national bestseller with Alan M. Dershowitz's Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000, published June 18. It's been a while since the first OUP bestseller—that was Robert Hughes's Culture of Complaint back in 1993. OUP notes that very few books by a university press ever become bestsellers and that its print runs average only about 5,000 copies (a big print run would be 15,000); as of 10 days after publication, there are more than 60,000 copies of Dershowitz's book in print. This fall will see the publication of some 10 titles about the controversial election, and being among the first is certainly an advantage. OUP senior trade editor Tim Bartlett (he was one of the 10 U.S. Editorial Fellows at the recent Jerusalem International Book Fair) gets the credit for acquiring this book in such a timely manner and from an author who has the perfect credentials. Bartlett came up with the idea and contacted Dershowitz directly. OUP got Dershowitz on the Today Show for pub date and he also did a satellite radio tour of ABC affiliates nationwide, as well as a satellite TV tour and many interviews, including one with Charlie Rose, which has yet to air. The publisher also sent the author to "the scene of the crime" for a debate with well-known rabbi David Yellin in Palm Beach County; the event drew more than 1,000 people. More events are planned, including public debates in California and New York in the fall.