Carol Publishing Group
Predecessor | Lyle Stuart, Inc. |
---|---|
Founded | January 1989 |
Defunct | 2000 |
Successor | Kensington Books |
Country of origin | United States |
Headquarters location | 120 Enterprise Avenue, Secaucus, New Jersey, US |
Carol Publishing Group was an American
Early history and sale (1955–1989)
The organization that was to become Carol Publishing Group began around 1955, when Lyle Stuart established Lyle Stuart, Inc., a publishing outfit later based in Secaucus, New Jersey, known for "scandalous" titles including biographies of celebrities.[1] Stuart sold his eponymous company, and its imprints Citadel Press and University Books, to Carol Management for US$12 million, effective January 9, 1989.[1] The deal was orchestrated by Steven Schragis, then the executive vice president of Carol Management.[1] After the sale closed, Schragis took over control of the new entity, known initially as Carol Communications.[1]
Carol Management was a family business and Schragis was a member of the family that controlled it.[2] The name "Carol" was Schragis's mother's and his purchase from Lyle Stuart was financed with a loan from his parents, aunt, and Carol Management itself.[2]
Operations, litigation, and bankruptcy (1989–2000)
Carol's business model focused on marketing and publicity.[3] An encyclopedia of publishing suggests that Schragis, in his role as Carol's head, "exemplified the 'hard-sell' accountant-publisher mentality of today taken to perhaps its furthest extreme".[4] A 2001 profile of Schragis said Carol was known for its "lowbrow celebrity bios";[5] The Washington Post called Carol a publisher of "salacious star biographies".[6]
Carol published several unauthorized biographies and distributed (but did not itself publish)[2][7] a suicide manual called Final Exit by Derek Humphry, an advocate of the right to die.[3][8] An imprint named after Lyle Stuart published books by Kahlil Gibran.[2] Carol made a foray into artificial intelligence with the 1993 romance novel Just This Once, about three quarters of which was written by a computer.[9][10]
In 1990, Carol won an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that allowed it to publish A Piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed, a biography of L. Ron Hubbard, who founded the Church of Scientology.[11][12] The book contained quotations from Hubbard's writings totaling about 3 percent of the biography.[11] Paramount Pictures sued Carol over The Joy of Trek: How to Enhance Your Relationship with a "Star Trek" Fan, which Paramount said infringed its copyright in Star Trek.[13][14] Carol lost.[15] It lost again in Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group Inc. (1998), where the Second Circuit, affirming the trial judgment by Sonia Sotomayor,[16] found that Carol's Seinfeld Aptitude Test, a trivia book about Seinfeld, infringed Castle Rock Entertainment's copyright in the show.[17][18]
Around April 1999, a sale of Carol to LPC Group, a book distributor, appeared imminent.
As of 1998,[update] Carol was headquartered at 120 Enterprise Avenue, Secaucus, New Jersey. Its booklist covered most commercial categories. Its Citadel imprint was the second-largest entertainment book publisher in the United States. Carol's editor-in-chief was Hillel Black.[23]
References
- ^ a b c d Blades, John (December 20, 1988). "'Gutsiest' Publisher". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Smith, Dinitia (January 6, 1992). "The Happy Hawker: Tyro Publisher Steven Schragis's Genius for Promoting Schlock". New York. 25 (1): 40–46.
- ^ from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-134-26126-0. Archivedfrom the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Cotts, Cynthia (July 24, 2001). "PR in the Blood". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Papajohn, George (August 14, 1991). "Suicide Book Stirring Controversy and Sales". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Henry, William A. (August 19, 1991). "Do-It-Yourself Death Lessons". Time. p. 55.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- OCLC 30399559.
- ^ from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- OCLC 25964617.
- from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Fleischer, Matt (March 1, 1999). "Paramount Aims Phasers at Trekker Prosecutor". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- JSTOR 24115611.
- OCLC 55894607.
- OCLC 71151332.
- ^ "'Seinfeld' producers sue over book about series". Orlando Sentinel. February 9, 1995. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Milliot, Jim (April 19, 1999). "LPC Group Agrees to Acquire Carol Publishing". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Bake, John F. (August 23, 1999). "Carol Publishing's LPC Deal Fails; Seeks New Buyer". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- OCLC 959887548.
- ^ "Kensington Publishing Corporation". International Directory of Company Histories. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- OCLC 39798658.