By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg
If controversy is good for book sales, publisher Henry Holt
& Co. is poised for a hot start to 2018.
Its new book about President Donald Trump and his
administration, "Fire and Fury" by author Michael Wolff, rocketed
to No. 1 on the bestseller lists at Amazon.com and
BarnesandNoble.com ahead of its Jan. 9 publication date, after
excerpts surfaced in news reports this week. Other book retailers
are reporting surging interest in the title.
The White House's swift and intense backlash to the book, which
features criticism of the president and his children, has created a
sensitive situation for Henry Holt, an imprint of Macmillan, but
also could fuel more interest in the book, retailers say. Several
book retailers, including Barnes & Noble Inc., said they have
received permission from the publisher to sell the book starting
Friday. Holt didn't respond to a request to comment on the new
publication date.
In a letter Thursday, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, Charles Harder,
called for Henry Holt to "cease and desist" from publishing the
book or any articles or excerpts related to it, saying the book
contained "false and/or baseless statements."
Henry Holt has issued no comment in response, beyond
acknowledging in a statement that it received the letter. A person
familiar with the publishing house's thinking said it stands by the
book. The company has sped up the rollout of media promotion of the
book to capitalize on surging interest, the person said. Henry Holt
hasn't disclosed how many copies it is printing.
Mr. Wolff, a journalist and columnist known for his writing on
media and entertainment, referred a request for comment to his
publisher. Andrew Wylie, Mr. Wolff's agent, declined to
comment.
Henry Holt is the latest media outlet to experience an attack by
the president. Mr. Trump has on many occasions slammed news
outlets, especially CNN and the New York Times, over coverage he
dislikes -- using his Twitter account to accuse them of peddling
fake news. Many media outlets, from newspapers to TV news channels,
have enjoyed audience gains since Mr. Trump came onto the scene in
the 2016 election, as readers and viewers are drawn to
controversies surrounding the president.
"Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" is an account of
the first months of the Trump administration. Steve Bannon. Mr.
Trump's former chief strategist, is quoted criticizing the
president's children.
Booksellers say the White House's harsh response has helped
focus attention on the book at a time when political themed titles
are performing well. Most recently, top sellers included "Let Trump
Be Trump" by former Trump campaign manager Corey R. Lewandowski and
David N. Bossie, and "Obama: An Intimate Portrait," by former White
House photographer Pete Souza.
"We saw a huge spike in demand yesterday," said Terry Finley,
chief executive of closely held Books-A-Million Inc., the country's
second largest bookstore chain. The demand largely came in the form
of preorders on the retailer's website.
Mr. Finley declined to disclose the number of orders, as did
Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com Inc.
"President Trump's attack absolutely stirred interest," Mr.
Finley said.
On Thursday morning shoppers were coming into Politics &
Prose, which operates two stores in Washington, D.C., and asking if
the book was on sale, said co-owner Bradley Graham. Others called
the store to inquire.
"Fortunately our initial order [from the publisher] was
substantial," said Mr. Graham. "These political books land
sometimes with huge news impact, like a Bob Woodward book, and
that's what we're seeing here."
Sallye Leventhal, a buyer for Barnes & Noble, said leaked
excerpts of the book have stoked interest. "And I have to say every
move from the White House since then has been a publicity dream. It
has forced it to the front page. It could be one of the books of
the year," she said.
Henry Holt, which also publishes a successful series of history
books written by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, didn't offer an
early copy to the White House, the person familiar with the matter
said.
Macmillan, which is a unit of Germany's closely held
Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, also owns such imprints as
Flatiron Books.
Flatiron last year acquired an upcoming book from James Comey,
the former FBI director fired by Mr. Trump. The book, "A Higher
Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership," is listed on Macmillan's
website with a May 1 publication date.
Mr. Comey will share "his never-before-told experiences form
some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two
decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical
leadership looks like, and how it drives sound decisions,"
according to the website.
--Sarah Rabil contributed to this article
Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at
jeffrey.trachtenberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 04, 2018 15:25 ET (20:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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