Blake Bailey, the author of the newly released Roth biography, has been accused of rape and sexual misconduct by multiple women. Even though Bailey has denied all allegations, his agency, the Story Factory, dropped him as a client. Soon after, his publisher, Norton, paused shipments and promotions of his book, which has sold about 7,500 hardcovers to date according to NPD BookScan. (The initial print run: 50,000 copies.)
But then, on Tuesday, Norton announced it was pulling the book from the market and taking it out of print. Rights have reverted to Bailey, who is now free to take the work elsewhere. (Norton is taking his 2014 memoir out of print as well.) As of publication time, it is still possible to buy the Roth biography on Amazon; it ranks number one in Jewish Literary Criticism.
The New York Times reported extensively on evidence it has obtained about Bailey’s behavior, including emails from publishing executive Valentina Rice, who informed Norton about his actions. She wrote to the Norton president (under a pseudonym), “I have not felt able to report this to the police, but feel I have to do something and tell someone in the interests of protecting other women. I understand that you would need to confirm this allegation, which I am prepared to do if you can assure me of my anonymity, even if it is likely Mr. Bailey will know exactly who I am.” The publisher did not respond but forwarded the email to Bailey, who then wrote to his accuser, denied the allegations, and appealed to her “decency” not to spread rumors that would destroy his family.
In The New Yorker, Alexandra Schwartz writes, “How will the allegations against Bailey change our reading of his book—if we read it? In a sense, they already have. It is more than a terrible irony that a biographer of a man so dogged by claims of misogyny should himself stand accused of violence against women; it besmirches the whole enterprise. A number of women who spoke out against Bailey said that they were moved to do so after reading the book and feeling that it condoned Roth’s mistreatment of the women in his life.” According to a report from The Times-Picayune / New Orleans Advocate, Bailey wrote to a student, “My behavior was deplorable. But I did nothing illegal.”
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.
