Norton takes Bailey’s Philip Roth biography out of print
More fallout after assault claims against Portsmouth author
W.W. Norton told its staff in a memo Tuesday that it would permanently take Blake Bailey’s bestselling biography of Philip Roth out of print, following allegations that Bailey sexually assaulted multiple women and behaved inappropriately toward his students when he was an eighth-grade English teacher.
The announcement came after the publisher decided last week that it would stop shipping and promoting the title, which it released in early April. It also canceled its second printing. It wasn’t immediately clear what would happen with unsold copies of the book or its digital and audio versions.
Bailey — whose book was a major literary event since he was an accomplished literary biographer who had exclusive and extensive access to Roth — is a resident of Hampton Roads. For six years, until the spring of 2016, he held the Mina Hohenberg Darden Chair in Creative Writing at Old Dominion University; he lives in Portsmouth. He previously wrote acclaimed biographies of John Cheever, Charles Jackson and Richard Yates.
“Norton is permanently putting out of print our editions of ‘Philip Roth: The Biography’ and ‘The Splendid Things We Planned,’ Blake Bailey’s 2014 memoir. Bailey will be free to seek publication elsewhere if he chooses,” said the email, signed by Norton president Julia A. Reidhead. A copy of the email was reviewed by The New York Times.
Reidhead also said Norton would make a donation in the amount of the advance it paid to Bailey, who received a mid-six-figure book deal, to organizations that support sexual assault survivors and victims of sexual harassment.
Norton’s decision to take the two titles out of print marked an extraordinary response to the allegations against the author and raised questions about publishers’ ethical obligations to respond to controversies that extend beyond the contents of the books they publish.
“As a publisher, Norton gives its authors a powerful platform in the civic space. With that power comes the responsibility to balance our commitment to our authors, our recognition of our public role, and our knowledge of our nation’s historic failure to adequately listen to and respect the voices of women and diverse groups,” Reidhead wrote.
Until the allegations surfaced against Bailey, Norton was heavily invested in “Philip Roth: The
Biography,” which it printed 50,000 copies of and was heavily promoting. Although some literary critics were skeptical of the book, it also drew coverage and praise.
In The Pilot and Daily Press, reviewer Michael Pearson wrote, “Blake Bailey’s biography of Philip Roth is that rare sort of book, meticulous without sacrificing dramatic energy, endlessly entertaining without ever surrendering critical integrity, candid without forfeiting compassion. ... He presents Roth’s life and books with grace and unflinching honesty, connecting the man to the work in a way that makes each more compelling as the story proceeds.”
Then, former students of Bailey’s
came forward with accusations that he had behaved inappropriately and groomed them for later sexual encounters. Several women accused him of sexual assault, including Valentina Rice, a 47-year-old publishing executive who reported that Bailey had attacked her after a gathering at the home of a New York Times book critic.
In 2018, Rice wrote anonymously to Reidhead, the president of Norton, to report that Bailey assaulted her three years earlier. (She also emailed a New York Times reporter, who responded, but Rice did not reply after deciding not to pursue it further.) Bailey later contacted Rice and denied the allegations, saying his publisher had forwarded the complaint.
In her email to staff Tuesday, Reidhead acknowledged that Norton could have done more to look into the allegations. “As a publishing company we are limited in our investigative abilities,” she wrote, “but we recognize that there may be situations, such as allegations of potentially criminal conduct, where we should actively consider bringing in outside assistance.”
Some of the allegations against Bailey were reported earlier by The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate and the Los Angeles Times, and additional accusations have been reported since.
In an email to the Times April 21, Bailey denied the allegations, calling them “categorically false and libelous.” A lawyer for Bailey, Billy Gibbens, called Norton’s response to the allegations “troubling and unwarranted.”
In an email Tuesday, Gibbens added: “Norton made the drastic, unilateral decision to take
Mr. Bailey’s books out of print, based on the false and unsubstantiated allegations against him, without undertaking any investigation or offering Mr. Bailey the opportunity to refute the allegations.”
Norton did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Since the #MeToo movement
began, publishers have canceled contracts with a number of authors who have faced charges of sexual harassment and assault. In 2017, Penguin Press canceled a forthcoming book on the 2016 election by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, authors of the bestseller “Game Change,” after Halperin was accused of sexually harassing women at ABC News, where he once directed political coverage.
And in March 2020, Hachette Book Group dropped a forthcoming memoir by Woody Allen amid a wave of criticism, including a walkout by employees, who cited the longstanding accusations that Allen had molested his adopted stepdaughter Dylan. (Both Allen and Halperin later found other publishers.)
Pulling books that have already
been published is less common, and even Norton’s initial “pause” last week drew concern from free expression groups.
Suzanne Nossel, chief executive of the literary organization PEN America, said in an email Tuesday that she understood the impetus to “not to reward authors amid horrific allegations or revelations.” But Norton’s decision to pull the Roth biography from print, she added, risked establishing a new, troubling norm that could narrow the range of ideas and information available to readers.
“Bringing out a book should signify that a publisher believes there is something edifying, worthwhile or elucidating contained in the volume,” Nossel said. “It should not be construed as an endorsement of the ideas or narrative purveyed, nor of the personal conduct of the author.”