In July 2000, when HarperCollins acquired the 18-year-old English publisher Fourth Estate and announced plans to establish a U.S. beachhead for the imprint, it wasn't clear who or what, exactly, the press would publish. Earlier this month, before publishing a single title in the U.S., Fourth Estate made headlines—planting its flag firmly on U.S. soil—by outbidding Riverhead, Random House and Little, Brown for two unfinished books by Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon. The winning bid is rumored to approach $2 million.
Speaking of the high-profile acquisition, Fourth Estate U.S. publishing director Clive Priddle told PW, "It has come very early for us in our new venture. With an author of Michael's distinction, it helps to make a point." The point is that Fourth Estate is serious about acquiring the kinds of titles that have made the company one of the most respected literary presses in the U.K.
A veteran of Fourth Estate in the U.K., Priddle has been given the responsibility of creating a space for his literary imprint alongside HarperCollins's high-concept, often highly commercial U.S. list. While daunting, the formula has already worked for Daniel Halpern's similarly situated Ecco Press, which HarperCollins bought in 1999 after Halpern ran it as an independent literary house for nearly 28 years. At Harper, Ecco has produced several bestsellers under Halpern's stewardship as v-p and editorial director, in addition to his secondary roles as an executive editor at HarperCollins, and as co-publisher of Fourth Estate U.S. Priddle chooses to call him simply "good counsel," describing him as "godfather" of the operation. HarperCollins president and CEO Jane Friedman told PW the incorporation of Ecco and Fourth Estate is about bringing new "author/editor relationships" as much as new imprints into the HarperCollins fold. "We have a great tradition of publishing literature," she said
In May, Fourth Estate launches its first title, Unless, the latest novel from another Pulitzer Prize winner, Carol Shields. The novel documents how a successful author's life changes when her adolescent daughter drops out of middle-class society. "We've known Carol for a long time in the U.K. and it's a treat to be able to extend our publishing relationship with her," said Priddle. Unless will be followed in June by Moral Hazard, a first novel from Australian-born Kate Jennings, about a Wall Street speechwriter dealing with the arrogance of the go-go dot-com '90s and her husband's Alzheimer's disease.
Fourth Estate built much of its reputation by publishing top U.S. authors in the U.K., including Jonathan Franzen, Colson Whitehead and E. Annie Proulx. "What you see in the U.K. is what you're going to get here," said Priddle. In his view, Shields's and Jennings's books are best characterized by their distinct styles rather than their subject matter. Like Shields's earlier work, Unless is lyrical and affecting. In contrast, Moral Hazard is more urbane—punchy and clever. "We've always valued writers who put the emphasis on their writing," he said.
The company plans to build slowly, publishing only these two titles in 2002, and three titles per season starting in 2003. That may be a mere sliver of the 100 books the press typically publishes in the U.K. each year, but it offers the chance for the U.S. imprint to find its feet. "We're very happy to not feel hurried into producing our next books," Priddle said. "I feel like a small publisher again, but have the reassurance of having HarperCollins behind me." The press will acquire both fiction and nonfiction equally, but no genre books.
At a party to launch the imprint earlier this year, Jane Friedman said that the company should no longer be regarded as having autonomous outposts across the globe, but rather as a single, fully globalized company operating at once in New York, London, Sydney and elsewhere. To that end, Fourth Estate will publish all titles simultaneously in the U.S. and the U.K. "I think e-mail makes it viable in a way that it probably wasn't before," said Priddle. "The group in London will be very involved with the publishing program in the U.S. We have excellent editors, copyeditors and designers and they can all play a part. My role here is really just to channel the collective expertise."
It's here that Friedman's strategy appears to be playing out. She told PW that in the case of Chabon and Shields, it was the opportunity to work with Christopher Potter, publisher and managing director of Fourth Estate U.K. and U.S., as an editor on both sides of the Atlantic that helped persuade the two authors to move to Fourth Estate in the U.S.
Though the term "Fourth Estate," used as the nickname for the media, may have more currency in the U.K., Priddle doesn't see that as an obstacle to brand building. "The general book buyer doesn't care about brands. Where we have to do some work is with the booksellers and the agent community," he said.
After the high-profile Chabon deal, getting the word out to agents will certainly be easier. On the other hand, making sure the books don't get lost among the hundreds of HarperCollins titles will still be tough. Despite his stated belief that a well-written book will "find its audience and, with a bit of luck, lead the market," Priddle acknowledged the power of publicity, noting that the company will depend on outside publicists. "We've always invested heavily in publicity in the U.K.," he said. "The idea is that we offer writers a very clear space on the list, and they will have to stand up and deal with the attention they are going to get. We expect no reticence on their part. No blushing violets here, please."
