Pascal Covici
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Pascal Avram "Pat" Covici (November 4, 1885–October 14, 1964) was a Romanian Jewish-American book publisher and editor, best known for his close associations with authors such as John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, and many more noted American literary figures, mainly through his position at Viking Press.
Early life
Covici, known to his friends as "Kai," was born on November 4, 1885, in
Early publishing career
For several years, he published a monthly newspaper in
New firm and controversy
When McGee left the company due to health issues in 1924, Covici continued to publish under Pascal Covici, Inc. Several years later, he began a firm with Donald Friede in New York City. The play The Front Page by Hecht and Charles MacArthur and the novel The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall garnered the company quick success. The Well of Loneliness was seized from Covici-Friede's offices after Friede sold a copy to John Saxton Sumner of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice but the New York Court of Special Sessions cleared the book of charges of obscenity.[1]
In addition to writers like Gene Fowler, Wyndham Lewis, Clifford Odets, and Nathanael West, their key author was John Steinbeck, whom they signed in 1934. They published Tortilla Flat in 1935 and other new and reprinted Steinbeck works. Covici-Friede failed in 1938; in 1943, Crown Publishing purchased the firm's assets.[2]
Viking Press
In 1938, Covici moved to Viking Press, where he convinced Steinbeck to sign. Viking published The Grapes of Wrath (1939), which received a 1940 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.[3] Overall, Covici's association with Steinbeck was long-lasting and highly honored by both sides.[4]
Covici also worked on the Viking Portable Library and with authors like Joseph Campbell, Ludwig Bemelmans, Gilbert Highet, Lionel Trilling, Arthur Miller, George Gamow, Shirley Jackson, Willy Ley, Marianne Moore, and Saul Bellow. Bellow's novel Herzog, Steinbeck's East of Eden, and Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle are dedicated to Covici.
Death and legacy
Covici died on October 14, 1964. His relationship with John Steinbeck is portrayed in the book Steinbeck and Covici: The Story of a Friendship, edited by Thomas Fensch.
Other works published
- 1001 Afternoons in Chicago, Ben Hecht
- Broken Necks {More 1001 Afternoon}, Ben Hecht
- Fantazius Mallare, a Mysterious Oath, Ben Hecht
- Kingdom of Evil, Ben Hecht
- The Coming Struggle for Power, John Strachey
- Julia Moore
- The Childermass, Wyndham Lewis
- Complete Cheerful Cherub, Rebecca McCann
- Speakeasy Girl, Bobbie Meredith
- Bachelor's Wife, George A. Bagby
- Boy Crazy, Grace Perkins
References
- S2CID 142799942.
- ISBN 0-8103-1724-9.
- ^ "Novel" The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ^ "Pascal Covici: An Inventory of His Correspondence at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center".
- Ronald S. Marmarelli. "Covici, Pascal Avram"; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000.