After allegations of sexual misconduct were reported against Bailey in The New York Times, his publisher, Norton, took his biography out of print in late April and reverted all rights. Skyhorse has now picked up the title (note that Skyhorse is distributed by Simon & Schuster). The ebook and audiobook editions are already available; the paperback will release on June 15. Last year, Skyhorse picked up Woody Allen’s memoir after it was pulled by Hachette due to employee protest.
Meanwhile: Bailey was one of the very few people who had access to Roth’s personal papers, and Roth insisted that such documents be destroyed after his death. (Roth died in 2018.) Scholars are hoping to prevent that, especially in light of recent events. Alex Shephard in The New Republic offers the details of the very unusual deal that Bailey had with the Roth Estate.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
