A year and a half ago, when the announcement came that William Shinker had been appointed to create a boutique imprint at Penguin Putnam, many in the industry were surprised. Widely respected in the industry for his commercial savvy and his skill in positioning publicity-driven books, Shinker had made his name running large corporate divisions and publishing at least 100 books a year at Broadway Books, HarperCollins and Warner Books. That left many observers wondering if this veteran of 30 years of publishing experience would be satisfied with a small list and an editorial staff of two.
By his own account, Shinker is as engaged at Gotham as he ever has been. "I want to focus my energies on a list, as opposed to running a big staff," he said, explaining why he left the Free Press in early 2001, after a six-month stint as v-p and publisher. The day he left, Phyllis Grann, then president of Penguin Putnam, quickly arranged a meeting. As the two talked, the idea of an imprint evolved very quickly. "I said I thought 30 originals a year was a good size, and she immediately said, 'How about 20?' " recalled Shinker with a chuckle. A few days later, Grann made a firm offer.
At Gotham Books, as the imprint was christened last September, Shinker's plan is to publish 20 original titles each year, starting in winter 2003 with a launch list of seven hardcovers and two trade paper originals. In 2004 and beyond, as the previous year's hardcovers are reprinted in paperback, the annual list will include about 35 titles. Categories will range from narrative nonfiction—including current affairs, history and memoir—to business and personal finance, mind, body and spirit titles, pop culture, sports (including Shinker's signature golf books) and travel narratives.
Shinker's first hire was Lauren Marino as executive editor. He'd worked with her before, at Broadway, where she developed a reputation for discovering and building breakout self-help authors, such as Cherie Carter-Scott. In her first month at Gotham, Marino acquired 20 titles for the imprint, a remarkable achievement considering that it was largely accomplished in the weeks following September 11, 2001. Last summer, Shinker rounded out his editorial staff when he plucked 28-year-old Brendan Cahill from Grove Atlantic, where Cahill had worked with authors Stewart O'Nan and David Vise.
"The key to our success," said Shinker, "will be having bestsellers and success in trade paperback." For every book, we are asking, 'Is this a unique idea, does the author have a constituency to whom they can promote it effectively, can we publish it twice, in hardcover and paperback, and will it backlist.' "
In the year since Shinker joined Penguin Putnam, president Susan Peterson Kennedy's expectations for his imprint haven't changed, despite the departure of Phyllis Grann and Kennedy's recognition that the general economic outlook has dimmed. "I expect fantastic growth from him," she said. "Things are going well for the rest of company, and I expect the same from Bill."
In a climate where corporate consolidation and growth targets have narrowed the range of books that major houses are willing to gamble on, Shinker is not viewed as an executive who's likely to take unusual risks. But many industry observers are heartened by the prospect of his hands-on approach to publishing a small list. "What's really appealing from my point of view is that he's creating a tightly focused imprint where idea-driven nonfiction can get star support," commented Suzanne Gluck, agent and co-head of the literary department at William Morris.
"He can give a book that something extra that will make it stand out," added agent Anne Edelstein, who heads her own firm and has placed several projects at Gotham, as well as at Broadway when Shinker was there. "You don't get the feeling that a book will be lost there, which happens at many other places."
There's also a perception that a smaller, more personal operation will play to Shinker's strength as a detail-oriented publisher. "Bill likes to be involved in every book, from acquisition to the last copy remaindered," explained Bob Asahina, who worked with Shinker as deputy publisher and editor-in-chief at Broadway, and is currently writing a book of military history for Gotham. "In a smaller environment, he will be free of managerial tasks that in some ways were a distraction from that kind of involvement with the books."
On the retail side, booksellers view Shinker's imprint at Penguin Putnam as a new window opening in the industry. "I have faith in Bill. He is very good at finding books that do well in bookstores," said Margaret Maupin, lead buyer at Denver's Tattered Cover.
A Familiar Mix of Titles
With 37 books in the pipeline for the next few years, Gotham's list very much resembles the one Shinker developed at Broadway, minus the fiction and cookbook program. In fact, several Broadway authors now appear on the Gotham list, including singer and bestselling author Patti LaBelle, whose Patti LaBelle's Lite Cuisine is the lead title on Gotham's first list.
In current affairs, one of Shinker's core categories, his most high-profile acquisition has been Michael Capuzzo's The Arms of Angels, a true story of a secretive group of sleuths called the Vidocq Society that aims to find answers to grisly, unsolvable crimes. At Frankfurt, Gotham's whopping $800,000 deal for world English rights, negotiated with Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group, began to look better when Penguin jumped in with a $300,000 offer for U.K. rights.
Brendan Cahill also made a splash last summer with his first buy for the imprint: Jewish Genes: What They Tell Us About Family, Race and Medicine, by John Entine and Michael Crawford. Repped by Glen Hartley of Writer's Representatives, it's scheduled for fall 2004.
The imprint will also publish two current affairs titles by John McWhorter, whose Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America (2000) netted 40,000 copies for the Free Press, before agent Katinka Matson placed him with Gotham. The first book in the deal, a collection of essays called Authentically Black, will be published in February, backed by ads and a six-city tour.
In history, Shinker's most high-profile acquisition has been Asahina's Just Americans, an account of a much-decorated Japanese-American combat unit that fought in France during WWII. Bought for an estimated $400,000 at an auction conducted by William Morris's Gluck, the book will be edited by Marino, Asahina's former Broadway colleague, and is now scheduled for publication in fall 2004.
Self-help is another core area. With three titles slated for almost every season through spring 2004, Marino's influence is evident. The imprint's inaugural list features The Power of Losing Control by business consultant and radio show host Joe Caruso; Real Love, a relationship book that Marino bought from agent Wendy Sherman after author Greg Baer self-published and promoted it on more than 800 radio shows; and Passionate Presence by dharma teacher Catherine Ingram. In spring 2004, Gotham will publish Thomas Moore's next book, Dark Nights of the Soul. "It will have more practical applications than his other books," said Shinker, who made Moore's Care of the Soul a major bestseller at HarperCollins in 1992.
Business books will also be a staple at Gotham, where the plan is to do three or four a year, despite possible overlap with Portfolio, the new business imprint run by Adrian Zackheim. Of the two business titles on the imprint's first list, The Official eBay Bible (Apr.) by Jim "Griff" Griffith has the bigger market. Sold to Gotham by William Morris agent Joni Evans, the trade paperback original will receive "saturation promotion" on the online marketplace, while "eBay ambassador" Griffith goes on a 20-city tour. Also in April, Gotham will publish Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy by Partha Bose, the first book acquired for the imprint. (Bose's agent, Rafe Sagalyn, also repped Shinker's first purchase for Broadway.) The book has sparked enthusiasm among Penguin Putnam's sales reps, who observed that it reads unusually well, both as a business manual and as a work of history, said Shinker.
In pop culture and memoir, recent acquisitions include Lord Jim, a new biography of Jim Morrison by Stephen Davis, and The Knicks in the Magic Garden, a memoir rooted in author Phil Taylor's memories of being a nine-year-old fan of the 1969—70 championship team.
Fitting into Penguin Putnam
Structurally, Gotham is a separate division of Penguin Putnam Inc., though the imprint will rely on Dutton's publicity, marketing, managing editorial, production, art and design departments, just as Riverhead depends on Putnam's staff. "Dutton has an infrastructure that can support the size of list I'm doing," said Shinker, explaining that three people have been hired in managing editorial and publicity to help with the load. "The idea was that my focus on nonfiction would complement their list."
Though Shinker doesn't have a clear-cut lieutenant to back him up, as he did at Broadway and HarperCollins, he points out that he's surrounded by adept publishing executives. "The person I rely on most is Lauren Marino," he said. "She shares my understanding of the marketplace, and of the need to stay with the book through the entire publishing process. We've worked together before, and I respect her tremendously." In addition to publicity director Lisa Johnson, Shinker said he also works closely with marketing director Kim Hadney, managing editor Susan Schwartz, president of sales Dick Heffernan and art director Rich Hasselberger, who also handles NAL, Dutton and Berkley titles.
Editorially, Shinker's autonomy appears nearly complete. "I'm cleared [to offer book advances] up to a certain level, and I've only had to consult with Susan [about larger advances] seven or eight times since I arrived here. She's not involved on the level of jackets or catalogues. Mainly, we have monthly financial meetings, where we talk about what I've signed up and how we're losing money, since I haven't published anything yet."
Kennedy might step in, however, if editors at two or more imprints were passionate about acquiring a book. "Multiple submissions happen, but it's been very rare that we all wanted to go after the same thing in the year that I've been here," said Shinker, noting that his imprint receives a lot of exclusive submissions.
One of the areas where Gotham is most likely to overlap with other imprints is in self-help, psychology and spiritual titles, since Putnam, Dutton, Viking and Berkley—as well as Riverhead, Viking Compass and Tarcher—all publish them. But Kennedy doesn't see a problem. "We can handle two to five books on Buddhism in a season," she said. "The growth at the company and in the category has been so great in last five years. From my point of view, it's better that we're controlling their publication. Competition is not within a company, it's outside."
Kennedy maintains that each imprint brings its own vision to its books, even when they may appeal to the same readers. "The idea of having different imprints is to take advantage of people's individual passions and expertise," she said, adding, "What's the difference between Knopf and Random House, except for the people involved with them? Both imprints publish fiction and memoirs."
Asked if the fate of Blue Hen, the Colorado-based literary imprint that was dropped from Penguin Putnam in last month, holds any special lessons for Gotham, neither Kennedy nor Shinker had much to say. However, other observers believe that Shinker's commercial profile, his close relationships with Kennedy and Dutton president Carole Baron, and the fact that, unlike Blue Hen, he's physically situated at the Penguin Putnam headquarters in New York, should provide some protection.
Since Gotham's list includes what Shinker describes as "lots of 'make-books,' " his biggest challenge will be to translate his vision for his imprint into palpable enthusiasm among the reps on Penguin Putnam's hardcover sales team—which will handle all of Gotham's books in hardcover and paperback. It's no small task, given the competition posed by Penguin Putnam's other imprints, which already make for a heavy load of titles.
At Shinker's first sales conference, in August, Kennedy gave him an edge by making him the only publisher of an imprint to attend. "If you have good books, and can articulate a vision for them, and a compelling strategy for marketing and publishing them, that's what people want to hear, and that's what I tried to do," said Shinker. handily summing up his career of many incarnations.
