As the anthrax scare intensifies, publishers and the media have adjusted mailroom policies, which could affect everything from the height of the slush pile to the agenting business to review coverage.
Large publishers like Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins have both said they will discard packages from unknown sources, including unsolicited manuscripts; Harper will also throw out mail not addressed to a specific employee. But small houses, which rely on the slush pile as a source of ideas and new writers, may wind up bearing more of the brunt. If Algonquin Books couldn't receive unsolicited submissions, "We would become a second-tier publisher," according to one source at the Chapel Hill, N.C., house. Instead of a moratorium, Algonquin has begun encouraging e-mail submissions.
Meanwhile, mid-size presses such as Walker & Co. have decided to put a hold on all unsolicited mailings, in a decision company president George Gibson called temporary but necessary. Not every small publisher, however, is reacting to the headlines. "We've always gotten crazy mail. We even have a file for it, called 'Maniacs,' " said Four Walls Eight Windows publisher John Oakes. "I don't think this is a threat."
Agents who make a living mining the slush for crystals might also feel the effects. "It strikes at the heart of what we do," said Jean Naggar, the former AAR head who discovers many of her authors from cold pitches. She has asked anyone in her office who opens the mail to wear gloves, but finds little comfort in such solutions. "I'm afraid I have no answers, only questions," she said.
Of course, if, as recent reports suggest, even legitimate packages could become accidentally contaminated, then bans on suspicious mail could prove worthless. So the New Yorker, more concerned than others because of its aggressive reporting on terrorism, has taken a strict approach. The magazine won't open any package that doesn't come by UPS or FedEx, a policy intended not only to protect the magazine from terrorists but from packages contaminated by other mail.
Publicists had been worried about shrinking review coverage prior to September 11. Now more prohibitive mailroom policies at the New Yorker and elsewhere could affect which books get on reviewers' and producers' radar, possibly causing more books to fall through the cracks. For their part, New Yorker officials said book coverage won't change because editors mostly know what they want to review. Still, some publicists said these times call for added precautions. "You need to do a lot more follow-up than you once did to make sure journalists see a book," said independent publicity specialist Jane Wesman.
