The Last Word
Last night I saw on the Publishers Weekly website that Little, Brown was recalling all unsold copies of OPAL MEHTA from bookstores. And while I think it's the right move, since the author would have inevitably profited from the "free press" of the scandal, I can't help but feel a little sorry for some of the people involved.
I worked with many of the good folks over at Little, Brown and Warner Books (now Hachette Book Group), and have the utmost respect for them. Little, Brown takes unbelievable pride in the books they publish, and have earned their stripes as one of the most admired publishers in the industry.
And somehow, I also feel bad for Kaavya. There's no doubting the severity of the incident...but she's 19 years old. She's a sophomore in college. At that age my biggest concerns were whether I could convince an upperclassman to buy me beer. I hate to think someone that young, who might legitimately have talent, finds their career over before it begins. In any case, I applaud the integrity of Michael Pietsch in this decision, and especially Megan McCafferty who held her head high, never once took the low road, and even wished Kaavya the best. And if the one person most wounded in this ordeal is able to move on, the whole industry can.
Last night I saw on the Publishers Weekly website that Little, Brown was recalling all unsold copies of OPAL MEHTA from bookstores. And while I think it's the right move, since the author would have inevitably profited from the "free press" of the scandal, I can't help but feel a little sorry for some of the people involved.
I worked with many of the good folks over at Little, Brown and Warner Books (now Hachette Book Group), and have the utmost respect for them. Little, Brown takes unbelievable pride in the books they publish, and have earned their stripes as one of the most admired publishers in the industry.
And somehow, I also feel bad for Kaavya. There's no doubting the severity of the incident...but she's 19 years old. She's a sophomore in college. At that age my biggest concerns were whether I could convince an upperclassman to buy me beer. I hate to think someone that young, who might legitimately have talent, finds their career over before it begins. In any case, I applaud the integrity of Michael Pietsch in this decision, and especially Megan McCafferty who held her head high, never once took the low road, and even wished Kaavya the best. And if the one person most wounded in this ordeal is able to move on, the whole industry can.
posted by Jason Pinter at
10:19 AM
2 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hi there! Found my way here from SW Vaughn and thought I'd say hi.
I agree it's good they pulled the book. Like yanking off a band-aid, it's much less painful to do it quickly and let the scandal die down, instead of some horrible, drawn-out Frey-like scandal.
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