One of publishing's most delayed memoirs may be nearing publication—or at least a new deal that could eventually lead to publication. The book, by Barney Rosset, is said by sources to be nearly under contract with Algonquin. Rosset recently pulled out of a deal with Broadway after he felt the house was trying to put too many loopholes in the contract.
The publishing legend has been working on the story of his life almost as long as he's been living it. (He once told PW that he wrote an autobiography in 1948, but "lost it and forgot that I wrote it.") In 1998, Seven Stories and Thunder's Mouth Press signed the book as a copublishing deal (News, Mar. 16, 1998), saying it would cover everything from Rosset's tenure as founder of Grove and correspondence with Samuel Beckett to his years in China during WWII. The book was scheduled to come out in 1999. But it soon ran into trouble. Insiders says Rosset didn't always have time to work on the book, and when he did, he was often gathering material instead of paring it down. With each passing month, the book seemed to be moving further away from completion.
Seven Stories and Thunder's Mouth finally decided that they couldn't support the effort any longer—in addition to more time, Rosset also reportedly needed more funding—and told Rosset they wouldn't stand in the way of him signing a new contract. With the help of agent Gene Brissie, Rosset sold the book to Gerry Howard at Doubleday. However, according to Rosset, the contract kept being rewritten, each time in the publisher's favor. "I asked a lot of friends, and it wasn't just boilerplate. It was as though they were looking to build in all sorts of ways to get out it," he said. Howard declined to comment.
After the deal imploded, underbidder Algonquin found itself back in the game. Sources close to the negotiations say that while a contract with the Workman imprint could be imminent, not all of the Ts have been crossed. (Algonquin's Elisabeth Scharlatt, mourning the death of her husband, Paul Gottlieb, was unavailable for interview.)
Both Thunder's Mouth Neil Ortenberg and Dan Simon of Steven Stories speak flatteringly of Rosset and said they have no doubt he will finish the book. But they admit they felt frustrated at times. "There was a point where instead of him whittling it down, it kept growing and growing. There was a sense it was becoming more complicated than we thought it needed to be," said Simon. Those who know Rosset and who have seen his archives describe the work as impressive—and ever-growing. But Rosset insists that, this time, he won't let his ambition trip him up. "It's all here," he said. "It just has to be computerized."
