Jonathan Karp

Last updated
Jonathan Karp
Jonathan Karp.jpg
Born(1964-04-02)April 2, 1964
Alma mater Brown University
Employer Simon & Schuster

Jonathan Karp is an American book editor, publisher, and writer. He is the publisher, president, and chief executive of Simon & Schuster, and has also led the company's flagship division. Karp also founded Twelve, an imprint at the Hachette Book Group, and was the editor-in-chief of Random House. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Karp was born to a Jewish family [4] and raised in the Short Hills section of Millburn, New Jersey. His mother worked as a schoolteacher and his father served as chairman and chief executive officer at a bank. [5] [6] [7] Karp graduated from Brown University in 1986, [8] where he majored in American civilization and served as president and editor of the student publication, The Brown Daily Herald . [5] [9] [10] [11] He wrote his master's thesis on Herman Wouk's novels. [12] [13]

Career

Karp wrote for The Washington Post in the mid 1980s, [14] [15] [16] then worked as a reporter for The Providence Journal and the Miami Herald . [5] He then relocated to New York City to pursue his interests in books and theatre. [5]

Karp joined Random House in 1989 as an editorial assistant, and by 2000 he was serving as vice president and senior editor. [17] [18] In July 2000, he was promoted to the role of publisher of '@Random', the company's e-book branch, [19] [20] and eventually worked his way up to editor-in-chief of Random House. [21] [22] He worked for Random House for sixteen years, with one interruption; in 2000, he left the publisher to head producer Scott Rudin's office in New York (Scott Rudin Productions) as vice president of development. [20] However, he returned to Bertelsmann several weeks later. [20] [23] [24]

Karp then served as publisher and editor-in-chief of Twelve, an imprint he established within the Hachette Book Group in 2005, which publishes one book per month. [25] [26] [27] Fifteen of Twelve's first thirty books appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. [28]

In mid 2010, Karp left Hachette to become Simon & Schuster's publisher, [21] [29] and was subsequently named president of the flagship division. [30] [31] On 29 May 2020, he became the CEO of Simon & Schuster. [32] Karp was included in Publishers Weekly's 2022 list of 25 "book business change makers", or "seriously consequential individuals whose mark on the industry is indelible". [33] In his role as chief executive, Karp testified in a 2022 antitrust trial filed by the Department of Justice to prevent Penguin Random House from acquiring Simon & Schuster. [34]

In 2022, Simon & Schuster sold 900 autographed copies of Bob Dylan’s book of essays, “The Philosophy of Modern Song.” Accompanying each $600 book was a letter of authenticity signed by Karp, the publisher’s chief executive, indicating that the books had been hand signed by Dylan. According to a New York Times article, when the books arrived, readers immediately noticed that the autographs appeared to have been machine generated by an auto pen. While Simon & Schuster initially denounced the “online rumors,” intense pressure led the publishing house to send out an “acknowledgment” that the autograph had been rendered “in a penned replica form.” Buyers were then provided a refund. Karp and Simon & Schuster declined further comment. [35] Dylan later said "his decision to digitally sign" the books was an "error in judgment", according to the Los Angeles Times . [36]

Karp is the longtime editor of John McCain; the two collaborated with Mark Salter on Faith of My Fathers (1999), Worth the Fighting For (2002), Why Courage Matters (2004), and The Restless Wave (2018). [37]

In 2020, Alexandra Alter of The New York Times wrote, "As a publisher who has worked with both conservative and liberal public figures, Mr. Karp has developed a reputation for knowing which political books will work commercially and how to market them." [38] In 2021, he turned down a petition signed by approximately 200 staff members, opposing Simon & Schuster's decision to publish a memoir by Mike Pence. According to The Wall Street Journal , some staff said the deal "would be a betrayal of the company's promises to oppose bigotry and make minority employees feel safe", but Karp insisted Simon & Schuster is "committed to publishing a broad range of views". [39]

Theatre and television

Karp met composer Seth Weinstein during their two-year apprenticeship at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, in Manhattan in 1996. The duo wrote The Kugelmass Affair, which is based on a short story by Woody Allen. [5]

In 2000, Karp co-directed Big Kiss: An Evening of Humiliating Audition Stories with Alford, who wrote Big Kiss: One Actor's Desperate Attempt to Claw His Way to the Top. The show featured Alford and other actors performing self-written monologues about their most embarrassing audition experiences. [40]

Karp and Weinstein's second musical, Heart Throb, premiered at the Producers Club in 2001. [5] The duo later collaborated on How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes, with Karp writing the book and lyrics. The Off-Broadway musical comedy, which is about a United Nations tour guide who realizes his ability to read minds after getting hit in the head by a melon, was first presented as I Know What You're Thinking in September 2000 at the New York International Fringe Festival and later ran at the arts complex New World Stages. [9] [20] [41] [42]

In May 2011, Karp made a cameo appearance on the finale of Gossip Girl 's fourth season ("The Wrong Goodbye"), in which he negotiates a manuscript deal with one of the show's main characters. [43] [44] [45] He later appeared on the season five episodes "The Jewel of Denial" (October 10, 2011) and "Father and the Bride" (January 23, 2012). [46] [47]

Bibliography

See also

Related Research Articles

Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. It has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the Germany-based media conglomerate Bertelsmann.

<i>New York</i> (magazine) American lifestyle and politics magazine

New York is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon & Schuster</span> American publishing company

Simon & Schuster LLC is an American publishing company owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster is considered one of the 'Big Five' English language publishers. As of 2017 Simon & Schuster was the third largest publisher in the United States, publishing 2,000 titles annually under 35 different imprints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DK (publisher)</span> British publisher of non-fiction books

Dorling Kindersley Limited is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel, history, geography, science, space, nature, sports, gardening, cookery, parenting and many others. The worldwide CEO of DK is Paul Kelly. DK has offices in New York, Melbourne, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto, Madrid, Beijing, and Jiangmen. DK works with licensing partners such as Disney, LEGO, DC Comics, the Royal Horticultural Society, MasterChef, and the Smithsonian Institution. DK has commissioned authors such as Mary Berry, Monty Don, Robert Winston, Huw Richards, and Steve Mould for a range of books.

<i>Us Weekly</i> American celebrity and entertainment magazine

Us Weekly is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. Us Weekly was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc. in 2017. Shortly afterward, former editor James Heidenry stepped down, and was replaced by Jennifer Peros. The chief content officer of American Media, Dylan Howard, oversees the publication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Scribner's Sons</span> American publisher

Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon Holmes, Don DeLillo, and Edith Wharton.

Robert Adams Gottlieb was an American writer and editor. He was the editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf, and The New Yorker.

Michael Korda is an English-born writer and novelist who was editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G. P. Putnam's Sons</span> US book publisher

G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.

Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Group. HBG was formed when Hachette Livre purchased the Time Warner Book Group from Time Warner on March 31, 2006. Its headquarters are located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hachette is considered one of the "big five" publishing companies, along with Holtzbrinck/Macmillan, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster. In one year, HBG publishes approximately 1400+ adult books, 300 books for young readers, and 450 audiobook titles. In 2017, the company had 167 books on the New York Times bestseller list, 34 of which reached No. 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atheneum Books</span> New York City publishing house

Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since its acquisition of Macmillan in 1994 and it created Atheneum Books for Young Readers as an imprint for children's books in the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Arana</span> American journalist

Marie Arana is a Peruvian author, editor, journalist, critic, and the inaugural Literary Director of the Library of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Galassi</span> American poet

Jonathan Galassi has served as the president and publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux and is currently the Chairman and Executive Editor.

Threshold Editions is an imprint of book publisher Simon & Schuster, a division of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, specializing in conservative non-fiction. The imprint was co-founded by Mary Matalin, serving as its first editor-in-chief, and Louise Burke, who served as publisher until 2017.

Zachary Karabell is the founder of the Progress Network at New America, president of River Twice Capital, an author, and a columnist. In 2003, the World Economic Forum designated him a "Global Leader for Tomorrow."

Peter Knobler is an American writer living in New York City. He has collaborated on fifteen books, ten of them best sellers and was the editor-in-chief of Crawdaddy magazine from 1972 to 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penguin Random House</span> American multinational conglomerate publishing company

Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was originally founded in 1935 and Random House was founded in 1927. It has more than 300 publishing imprints. Along with Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House is considered one of the 'Big Five' English language publishers.

Bernard J. Geis was an American editor and publisher who founded the now-defunct Bernard Geis Associates, which published and promoted several best-sellers in the 1960s and 70s, including Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls and Helen Gurley Brown's Sex and the Single Girl and David Wilkerson's The Cross and the Switchblade.

Phyllis E. Grann is a former book editor and publishing executive. She was the first female CEO of a major publishing firm, Penguin Putnam, and one of the most commercially successful publishers in recent history. She was a long-time editor for Knopf Doubleday, and a former CEO of the Putnam Berkley Group and was also CEO of Penguin Putnam. Grann was responsible for publishing many notable and bestselling authors at Penguin including A. Scott Berg, Judy Blume, Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton, Daniel Silva, and Kurt Vonnegut. At Doubleday Grann acquired and edited Jeffrey Toobin, Tina Brown, Bob Herbert, Ayelet Waldman and Tim Weiner. At Knopf she edited John Darnton.

<i>The Philosophy of Modern Song</i> 2022 book by Bob Dylan

The Philosophy of Modern Song is a book by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, published on November 1, 2022, by Simon & Schuster. The book contains Dylan's commentary on 66 songs by other artists. It is the first book Dylan has published since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Elizabeth A. (2020-05-28). "Simon & Schuster Names Jonathan Karp C.E.O." The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  2. ↑ Milliot |, Jim. "Karp Named CEO of Simon & Schuster". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  3. ↑ "Simon & Schuster | Jonathan Karp". simonandschusterpublishing.com. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  4. ↑ Times of Israel: "The Good Old Days Of The Future Of Publishing" by Susan Reimer Archived 2018-08-10 at the Wayback Machine December 16, 2012
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lee, Felicia R. (August 7, 2004). "Critic's Notebook; Double Life as Editor and Lyricist". The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Donald M. Karp, Secretary". Thirteen.org. Tisch WNET: THIRTEEN Media. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  7. ↑ Nadler, Paul (September 1, 1998). "Weekly Advisor: Has New Jersey Bank Got Its Fair Share in Community's Comeback?". American Banker . SourceMedia. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017– via HighBeam Research.
  8. ↑ Brown University:
  9. 1 2 Schwartzapfel, Beth (January–February 2007). "His True Loves". Brown Alumni Magazine. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  10. ↑ Eugenides, Jeffrey; Moody, Rick; Lowry, Lois; Robinson, Marilynne; Cheever, Susan (May 20, 2014). The Brown Reader: 50 Writers Remember College Hill. Simon & Schuster. p. 107. ISBN   9781476765204 . Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  11. ↑ "The Brown Daily Herald" (PDF). Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University. January 23, 1985. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  12. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (November 12, 2012). "At 97, He Has a Book (or 2) Left". The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  13. ↑ Boog, Jason (April 9, 2012). "96-Year-Old Novelist Herman Wouk Lands Book Deal". Adweek . Prometheus Global Media. ISSN   0199-2864 . Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  14. ↑ "How Real Is 'Rambo'?". The Washington Post . July 8, 1985.
  15. ↑ "Brown's Four Famous Freshmen". The Washington Post. August 29, 1985.
  16. ↑ "Reputed Md. Gang Member Gets 32 Years in Murder". The Washington Post. August 30, 1986.
  17. ↑ Reid, Calvin (August 7, 2000). "PW: Random House, Modern Library to Offer E-books". Publishers Weekly . 246 (32). ISSN   0000-0019 . Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  18. ↑ Bronson, Po; Dooling, Richard; Garcia, Eric; Hond, Paul; Krist, Gary (February 20, 2001). Men Seeking Women: Love and Sex On-line. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN   9780679647171 . Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  19. ↑ Bing, Jonathan (September 18, 2000). "Booked Solid: Three giants expand their e-publishing horizons". Variety . Penske Media Corporation. ISSN   0042-2738. OCLC   810134503 . Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Goldman, Andrew (February 12, 2001). "Hollywood's Second-Oldest Story: Jon Karp Signs with Rudin, Flees". New York Observer . Observer Media. ISSN   1052-2948 . Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  21. 1 2 Bosman, Julie (June 3, 2010). "Head of Boutique Publisher Joins Simon & Schuster". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. OCLC   1645522 . Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  22. ↑ Bosman, Julie (September 15, 2010). "Boutique Publisher Names New Chief". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  23. ↑ Kolker, Robert. "Waiting for Godoff". New York : 3. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  24. ↑ Snyder, Gabriel (March 19, 2001). "Another Dot-Com Dream Punctured: Random House Scaling Back E-Books". New York Observer . Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  25. ↑ Donadio, Rachel (February 3, 2008). "Waiting for It". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 2, 2010). "Simon & Schuster Shakeup: David Rosenthal Out and Jonathan Karp In". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  27. ↑ Kellogg, Carolyn (June 3, 2010). "Simon & Schuster grabs innovative publisher Jonathan Karp". Los Angeles Times . ISSN   0458-3035. OCLC   3638237 . Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  28. ↑ Ferrari-Adler, Jofie (November–December 2009). "Agents & Editors: A Q&A with Editor Jonathan Karp". Poets & Writers . Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  29. ↑ Boog, Jason (June 3, 2010). "Jonathan Karp to Replace David Rosenthal as Simon & Schuster Publisher". Adweek. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  30. ↑ Dilworth, Dianna (February 22, 2016). "Simon & Schuster to Publish Book on Tiger Woods". Adweek . Beringer Capital. ISSN   0199-2864 . Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  31. ↑ Kinane, Ruth (January 4, 2017). "Carrie Fisher's books rush to reprint after sales were 'wiped out by demand'". Entertainment Weekly . Time Inc. ISSN   1049-0434. OCLC   21114137 . Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Simon & Schuster names Jonathan Karp as new CEO". The Hindu. 29 May 2020.
  33. ↑ Coffey, Michael; Kirch, Claire; Albanese, Andrew; Maughan, Shannon (April 19, 2022). "They Made a Difference: 25 Book Business Change Makers". Publishers Weekly.
  34. ↑ Waldman, Katy (August 16, 2022). "Is Publishing About Art or Commerce?". The New Yorker .
  35. ↑ Tumin, Remy (23 November 2022). "Bob Dylan Gets Tangled up in Book Autograph Controversy". The New York Times.
  36. ↑ Saad, Nardine. "Bob Dylan blames vertigo and pandemic for use of autopen to sign 'autographed' books". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  37. ↑ "John McCain memoir, 'The Restless Wave,' coming in April". USA Today . Associated Press. October 20, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  38. ↑ Alter, Alexandra (June 17, 2020). "In the Race for Trump Tell-Alls, Simon & Schuster Is Leading". The New York Times.
  39. ↑ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A.; Glazer, Emily (May 21, 2021). "Inside the Simon & Schuster Blowup Over Its Mike Pence Book Deal". The Wall Street Journal .
  40. ↑ Tierney, John (April 12, 2000). "The Big City; Now Staging a Revival: Humiliation". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  41. ↑ "Jonathan Karp: From the Page to the Stage". Broadway.com. Key Brand Entertainment. November 14, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  42. ↑ Gates, Anita (November 16, 2006). "Theater Review: 'How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes'; Listening for Love". The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  43. ↑ Yin, Maryann (May 17, 2011). "Jonathan Karp Cameo on 'Gossip Girl' TV Show". Adweek. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  44. ↑ Duray, Dan (May 17, 2011). "Jonathan Karp on His Gossip Girl Cameo". New York Observer. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  45. ↑ Pressler, Jessica; Rovzar, Chris (May 17, 2011). "Gossip Girl Recap: Maybe We're Growing Up After All". Vulture.com. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  46. ↑ Pressler, Jessica (January 24, 2012). "Gossip Girl Recap: There's a Fine Line Between Surveillance and Stalking". Vulture.com. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  47. ↑ Greenhouse, Emily (December 21, 2012). "Farewell, "Gossip Girl"". The New Yorker . Condé Nast. ISSN   0028-792X. OCLC   320541675 . Retrieved January 31, 2017.

Further reading

External audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg Writer Laura Hillenbrand, Jonathan Karp of Random House: Fresh Air , July 29, 2003, NPR
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.