Threshold Editions

Threshold Editions is an imprint of Simon & Schuster—the publishing division of ViacomCBS—specializing in conservative non-fiction.[1] The publisher is Louise Burke ,[1] Mary Matalin was its founding editor-in-chief.[2][3]

Threshold Editions
Parent companyGallery Publishing Group (Simon & Schuster)
Founded2006
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationSimon & Schuster Building
New York City
Publication typesBooks
Nonfiction topicsConservative non-fiction
Official websitewww.simonandschuster.com

Threshold Editions was founded as a Conservative imprint in 2006 with Mary Matalin as editor-in-chief.[4] The imprint was launched after Penguin Books launched Sentinel and Random House launched Crown Forum.[2] Within four years of launching and due to Matalin's network, the imprint had already counted Glenn Beck, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove among its authors and was producing bestselling books.[2]

The publisher of Threshold Editions, Louise Burke, stated in an interview that Threshold "best understands the conservative book-buying audience--a key factor needed to keep the hits coming."[3] Matalin and Burke were introduced in 2005 and Burke said, "We were kindred spirits and we took it from there." Of the launch Burke said, "This is an area where it really helps to be a believer. I don't feel you can be successful in this particular genre if you are opposed to the message."[3]

Glenn Beck's book, An Inconvenient Book, reached No.1 on the New York Times Bestseller in 2007.[5]

Karl Rove sold his memoirs, Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight, to Threshold in 2007 after an auction with nine bidders, including another one of Simon & Schuster's imprints, Free Press. Rove, who received a seven-figure deal, stated that he chose the imprint as he was a longtime friend of Mary Matalin.[5]

While sales of hardcovers were down for Simon & Schuster in 2009 and early 2010, Threshold Editions had the biggest hits for the company.[6]

By 2014, Threshold was not only publishing memoirs and political commentary, but also young adult and fiction novels such as Rush Limbaugh's Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims.[7]

In 2015, Threshold signed a book deal with Donald Trump, for a book originally titled Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again. The title was later changed to Great Again: How to Fix Crippled America. The book debuted at #5 on Publisher's Weekly Frontlist Hardcover Nonfiction list.[8]

In late 2016, Threshold signed a controversial deal with Milo Yiannopoulos with a purported advance of US$250,000 for his book Dangerous.[9][10][11] The Hollywood Reporter broke the news and social media quickly responded.[12] The Chicago Review of Books announced that they would not be reviewing Simon & Schuster's books in 2017 and others called for a boycott.[12][13] The book is not scheduled to release until later in 2017, but within 24 hours of the book being announced it had reached number one on the Amazon best-seller list.[14][15] Simon & Schuster posted a statement on social media on December 30, that stated, "We do not and never have condoned discrimination or hate speech in any form. At Simon & Schuster we have always published books by a wide range of authors with greatly varying, and frequently controversial opinions, and appealing to many different audiences of readers. While we are cognizant that many may disagree vehemently with the books we publish we note that the opinions expressed therein belong to our authors, and we do not reflect either a corporate viewpoint or the views of our employees."[16][17] On January 12, 2017, 160 Simon & Schuster children's book authors and illustrators published a letter to publisher Carolyn Reidy and the leadership at Simon & Schuster about Threshold's decision. The letter first praised Simon & Schuster for which they described as publishing "the strongest, most diverse list it can acquire, for the betterment of literature and children everywhere." It then went on to criticize the Threshold Editions imprint and its decision to publish Yiannopoulos's book which would associated Simon & Schuster as a whole with Threshold's decision to "legitimize this reprehensible belief system..."[18]

Authors

The imprint's authors include:

Broadcasters
Political leaders
Political commentators

See also

References

  1. "About Threshold Editions". Simon & Schuster. Archived from the original on 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  2. "Mary Matalin helps turn the pages". The Politico. July 21, 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  3. "Mary Matalin helps turn the pages". POLITICO. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  4. "Threshold Editions | Home". simonandschusterpublishing.com. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  5. Rich, Motoko (2007-12-22). "Rove Reaps His Reward". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  6. "Karp Replaces Rosenthal at Simon & Schuster". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  7. "Facts & Figures 2013: For Children's Books, Divergent Led the Pack". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  8. "PW Online and On Air: Week of November 16, 2015". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  9. Roy, Jessica. "Milo Yiannopoulos, controversial Breitbart editor, lands a reported $250,000 book deal". latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  10. "Milo Yiannopoulos Strikes $250K Book Deal (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  11. Katz, Amanda; Mathis-Lilley, Ben (2017-01-05). "Should Simon & Schuster Be Publishing Alt-Right Hatemonger Milo Yiannopoulos' Book?". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  12. Hunt, Elle (2016-12-29). "Breitbart's Milo Yiannopoulos claims lucrative deal struck for autobiography". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  13. Writer, Claire Fallon Culture; Post, The Huffington (2016-12-30). "Critics Vow Boycott Of Simon & Schuster After Milo Yiannopoulos Book Deal". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  14. "Milo Yiannopoulos' just-announced book hits No. 1 on Amazon—here's our Q&A with him". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  15. Seipel, Brooke (2016-12-30). "Alt-right leader's book hits No. 1 on Amazon". TheHill. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  16. "Simon & Schuster on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  17. "Milo Yiannopolous Book Deal with S&S Generates Backlash". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  18. "S&S Children's Authors Protest Yiannopoulos Deal". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  19. "Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Business News". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  20. "Book Deals: Week of November 18, 2013". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  21. "Nonfiction Book Review: Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark R. Levin". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  22. "Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Business News". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  23. "Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Business News". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  24. "Trump Signs for New Book with S&S". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  25. "Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Business News". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.