Publishers bank on their backlists. The trick is to find ways to freshen up older titles for new generations of readers. One way is to repackage classic titles with new cover art and contemporary introductions. However cursory such treatment can be, it has produced some memorable results. In particular, Grove's small-format, slipcased editions of the books of the Bible, introduced by A-list authors, stand out for their creativity.
This summer, backlist titles by a number of deceased authors—including Raymond Chandler, Gregory MacDonald, Philip K. Dick, P.G. Wodehouse, Louis L'Amour, Patricia Highsmith and Ian Fleming—are at the forefront of some paperback lists. While not all of the books are classics, many have been underappreciated and are ripe for reevaluation—or so their publishers hope. The challenge is in finding ways to draw the attention of critics and, most importantly, new audiences.
For David Hyde, publicist for Vintage's Black Lizard imprint, getting other writers excited about Chandler's newly repackaged titles was relatively easy, since Chandler's work is well-respected and people want to be associated with it. After approaching a number of authors (most of them published by Vintage) about going on the record with their admiration for the master of the detective novel, Hyde received blurbs from Richard Russo, Pico Iyer, George Pelecanos and Jonathan Lethem. More impressively, he booked several of them for a recent appearance on NPR without an anniversary or new movie to provide a news peg. He also convinced legendary mystery editor and critic Otto Penzler to join novelist Robert Parker for a public dialogue about Chandler, who was the subject of Parker's Ph.D. thesis. Meanwhile, Esmeralda Santiago and Ben Cheever stepped in to read from Chandler's work at an event at the Chappaqua (N.Y.) Public Library, drawing an audience of almost 200 in late June. Similarly, Norton enlisted Roy Blount Jr. to go on a book tour for last year's publication of a newly discovered Mark Twain story, A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage. "In the case of the Twain, we were fortunate enough to have an author who could fill [his] shoes. In other cases, it's really the publisher's passion that can make up for the lack of an author," explained publicity director Louise Brockett. Specifically, Brockett cites the care with which Norton handled the Twain work—from the fanfare that accompanied the piece's initial publication in the Atlantic to the cover art that the house commissioned from award-winning illustrator Peter de Sève.
When Overlook Press repackaged a line of titles by the British humorist P.G. Wodehouse for publication this summer, the house devoted great attention to producing high-quality editions of the books—which feature full cloth covers and beautiful, striped endpapers—to differentiate them from others already on the market. "There's very little overhead. Once the rights are acquired, there's more opportunity to spend money on the production," explained publicity director Bruce Mason. He has focused his efforts on Wodehouse fan sites and societies, marketing the new titles as collectors editions. It seems to be paying off: Entertainment Weekly recently devoted a half-page feature to Wodehouse, displaying a stack of the Overlook reissues.
Perhaps the greatest posthumous success story of all is that of Louis L'Amour, whose prominence can largely be attributed to the efforts of his family. During his life, L'Amour sold more than 200 million copies of more than 100 titles. Since his death in 1998, another 14 books have emerged; with the exception of his latest, all of them have reached the New York Times bestseller list in hardcover, amounting to another 60 million books. The new book, a collection of early writings entitled May There Be a Road, was published in May. In addition to conducting a full-scale "literary excavation," as publicist Chris Artis put it, L'Amour's widow, Kathy, has supported each new publication with a round of radio interviews, becoming a well-liked personality in her own right. Bantam has also undertaken some creative initiatives: the house recently seeded a new generation of readers by donating 250,000 copies of L'Amour's hero-heavy titles to military recruits.
For other authors, a new film adaptation can be the key to resurrection. At Norton, editorial director Bob Weil began negotiating for the rights to publish 14 of Patricia Highsmith's works in the U.S. the year before the film version of her early novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, was released. When Norton published The Selected Stories of Patricia Highsmith in hardcover last year, it earned significant critical praise and hit four regional bestseller lists. Since then, interest in Highsmith has grown so strong that, prior to the publication of Nothing Meets the Eye: The Uncollected Stories of Patricia Highsmith (Oct.), the New Yorker published a story from the book, marking the first time Highsmith had ever appeared in the magazine.
So while authors may age and die, their books can live on, provided there's a strong-willed publicist, tireless descendants or a well-funded movie producer to fan the flames. Even Penguin, no stranger to promoting dead authors, is getting into the act by repackaging books beyond its line of classics. This fall, Ian Fleming's Dr. No and Casino Royale are getting the treatment, with new covers and a new push, to tie in with the forthcoming Pierce Brosnan Bond flick, fittingly titled Die Another Day.
