Big fiction: how conglomeration changed the publishing industry and American literature

In the late 1950s, Random House editor Jason Epstein would talk jazz with Ralph Ellison or chat with Andy Warhol while pouring drinks in his office. By the 1970s, editors were poring over profit-and-loss statements. The electronics company RCA bought Random House in 1965, and then other large corporations purchased other formerly independent publishers. As multinational conglomerates consolidated the industry, the business of literature—and literature itself—transformed. Dan Sinykin explores how changes in the publishing industry have affected fiction, literary form, and what it means to be an author. Giving an inside look at the industry's daily routines, personal dramas, and institutional crises, he reveals how conglomeration has shaped what kinds of books and writers are published. Sinykin examines four different sectors of the publishing industry: mass-market books by brand-name authors like Danielle Steel; trade publishers that encouraged genre elements in literary fiction; nonprofits such as Graywolf that aspired to protect literature from market pressures; and the distinctive niche of employee-owned W. W. Norton. He emphasizes how women and people of color navigated shifts in publishing, arguing that writers such as Toni Morrison allegorized their experiences in their fiction. Big Fiction features dazzling readings of a vast range of novelists—including E. L. Doctorow, Judith Krantz, Renata Adler, Stephen King, Joan Didion, Cormac McCarthy, Chuck Palahniuk, Patrick O'Brian, and Walter Mosley—as well as vivid portraits of industry figures. Written in gripping and lively prose, this deeply original book recasts the past six decades of American fiction. In the late 1950s, Random House editor Jason Epstein would talkjazz with Ralph Ellison or chat with Andy Warhol while pouringdrinks in his office. By the 1970s, editors were poring overprofit-and-loss statements. The electronics company RCA boughtRandom House in 1965, and then other large corporations purchasedother formerly independent publishers. As multinationalconglomerates consolidated the industry, the business ofliterature-and literature itself-transformed. Dan Sinykin exploreshow changes in the publishing industry have affected fiction,literary form, and what it means to be an author. Giving an insidelook at the industry's daily routines, personal dramas, andinstitutional crises, he reveals how conglomeration has shaped whatkinds of books and writers are published. Sinykin examines fourdifferent sectors of the publishing industry: mass-market books bybrand-name authors like Danielle Steel; trade publishers thatencouraged genre elements in literary fiction; nonprofits such asGraywolf that aspired to protect literature from market pressures;and the distinctive niche of employee-owned W. W. Norton. Heemphasizes how women and people of color navigated shifts inpublishing, arguing that writers such as Toni Morrison allegorizedtheir experiences in their fiction. Big Fiction featuresdazzling readings of a vast range of novelists-including E. L.Doctorow, Judith Krantz, Renata Adler, Stephen King, Joan Didion,Cormac McCarthy, Chuck Palahniuk, Patrick O'Brian, and WalterMosley-as well as vivid portraits of industry figures. Written ingripping and lively prose, this deeply original book recasts thepast six decades of American fiction Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Mass Market (I): How Mass-Market Books Changed Publishing 2. Mass Market (II): How the Mass Market Won the World, Lost Its Soul—Then Lost the World 3. Trade (I): How Women Resisted Sexism and Reinvented the Novel 4. Trade (II): How Literary Writers Embraced Genre 5. Nonprofits: How Rebels Found Funding and Rejected New York 6. Independents: How W. W. Norton Stayed Free and Housed the Misfits Conclusion Glossary of Publishing Figures Notes Index