Harper Perennial is adding a political classics line to its paperback program; the line will launch this fall under the direction of editorial director Cal Morgan. The idea, said Morgan, is to capitalize on the decades of backlist titles to which Harper still owns rights. Morgan said he will also be selectively looking outside the house for out-of-print works, and thus far the initiative has led to the acquisition of Theodore White's series of four election books that began with The Making of the President, 1960. Movable Type agent Jason Ashlock subagented the North American reprint rights deal on behalf of Michael Carlisle at InkWell, who handles the White family's estate. The first two titles in White's series, about the 1960 and 1964 presidential races, will be part of the inaugural Political Classics list, along with Ted Sorenson's bio of JFK and possibly one other book.
Other potential titles on the docket include backlist books on FDR and Andrew Jackson. Morgan said all of the reprints will include new forewords; Sorenson will write one for his book. Harper will bring out about four titles a year and it's likely that each year's list will pub in the fall.
