Variety (Jan 1948)

Vcdneflday, January 7, .i94g Forly-tecond p^&RVBTY' Anniveraary PICTURES 45 (uality Ma^s As Untapped New Source, of Writing By BILL ORNSTEIN- studio and home office literary heads who, during the past few years, have beea decrying vocally and print-wise ,the alleged dearth of jiew, fresh and Inspiring writing talent have only to look to the crea- +ive pen-men .apjpearing in the ever- increasing list of literary magazines ^^omelimes called little or quality itiagazines—for the answer to their desperate and unavailing search. ■ Some of the outstanding short story writers' and novelists have heen born with the. sunlight of the creative writing journals. Many pre- fer the prestige of their art and ' craft than a monetary salutation df popular boiler-plate, slide consump- tion. .They will have no truck with the editorial behemoths who presti- digitate story plots and ideas to ineaiiure within a calculated and gul- ■ lible arena. *Tlie reason is simple and swath- »cut, for these writers know of fact that book publishers loole toward these magazines as future compen- ■ diumg on which to hang their lau- rels, inflated' or deflated as the case inay be, and special . editors have, ;been assigned the spcciiic job of 'contacting these burnishing' new writers to add to their rosters. With the possible exception of one company, film story editors, east and - west, have resolved into perfect uni- son in. shying clear of this creative j&sterni^. JStow the studio and eastern story . heads can continue to shy away from : this new writing talent in face of the facts is hardly disicernible; yet the hue and wail continues and ap- parently will manifest itself as long as boys-that-be look at the picture &s apathetically as they have in the past. , There are at least 100 smqjl—or literary—magazines on ■ tile market itoday, most of theih - sectional and Without national distribution or cir- culation but there are quite a few that can be found in literary centers in almost any-important city. Some of these magazines preen their fine feathers when discussing discoveries sbA two- of: the greatest of the little .magazines in that category were Dial and Smart Set, both now extinct. ■ IJrobably the outstanding exist-' ing exponent for developing, new . writers in the smaller group classi- fication is Story. William Saroyan ■ donned his swaddling clothes in this ■journal when Whit Burnett and Martha Foley were jointly running it, Burnett took a quick fancy to ■ Safoyan's style and ■wtikn it became impossible to print all of his out- pourings (Burnett is on recod that ■ Saroyan sent a story a day for 30 days straight after his first accept- ance), that Burnett turned to some of his compatriots in the publishing ileld and interested them in using the stufif he couldn't. Success flounc- ed on Saroyan after that and his playwrighting career was a natural outgrowth. done to bring that realization to the fore where the need is most. Many writer.s have made substan- tial aacriflces just to appear in the smaller magazines. It is a recog- nized fact that many writers appear- ing in the limited circulation maga- zines are professors and teachers in that field. Some are newspapermen and magazine editors. Lowry Charles Winberly, profes- sor in English at the University of Nebraska, and editftr of Prairie Schooner, published by that univer- sity, had a short story "Merry Christmas, Pr<Jf." in the summer is- sue of Western Review. Fourth Estaters So much for the pedagogical lumi- naries. Here are some newspaper- men and magazine editors worth noting for their creative efforts; Frank Brookhousor, columnist on the Philadelphia Enquirer, currently is represented in. New Mexico Quarterly and has several other literary publications. To date he has had more than 100 stories in maga- zines like . Decade. William Zuker- man, former London correspondent and currently New York newspaper- man; Eudora Welty, formerly of the N. Y. ■ Times et al; Charles Angoff, fiction editor for American Mercury; Alfred Kreymborg, one of the. toun'> ders of Broom and American Gara< van, which published literary miscel* lany, was heard from recentty in Story. Burnett, publisher and editor of Story,, has had quite a few stories published. He has taught at Colum- bia U. and has pieced together quite a few antliologies, his best probably being known as "This Is My Best." He is now working on another antholog}'. Martha Foley, former assbciate editor of Story, teaches " at Columbia and writes stories^ too. Several years ago she succeeded the late Edward J. O'Brien as editor of Best Ameri- can Short Stories, published an- nually by Houghton-Mifflin. Among other writers who will bear watching, particularly among literary heads interested in new talent, are! Best evidence of superior writing in the short story field is apparent in the annual Pi-ize Stories in mem- ory of O. Henry, edited by Herschel Brickell, and Martha Foley's handi- work in selecting the Best American Short Stories. Pages 286 to 296 in the latest Oi Henry awards has some important and valuable biographical information the. men who claim a dearth of stories should read. L "PHcka" Into Flicker *Mary O'Hara's "Flicka" was first published in Story. It was her first RUblished work, for which she re- ceived a handsome |29, like all con- tributors to Story. But on the strength of the story published she was asked to build the horse yarn into a full length novel. She did and later sold the rights to a film com- pany. Tlien followed "Son of Flicka" and "Thimderhead" in novel length aad also disposed of for a sumptuous fee to the same company which took a shine to "Flicka." . Herbert Clyde Lewis, who sat be- nwd an editorial desk at the N.Y. Herald Tribune, had his initial story, ,"0" Juan Qi'illigan," see daylight Jn Story. Shortly thereafter it was swooped up by a film outfit and the rest IS history. Only recently "The immortal Bachelor" by Whit Burnett ma. John Penn, (pen. name for a ^•"^■"'^ "aiter) was sold in iAlf„ ^* wppeared in Story m 1942, meaning of course, that even f™^, fVe _ years a .film company lound the mcident in Robert Biu-ns' "ie uit cresting enough to purchase. In essence, however, the stories and sales cited nro exceptions to the- ^s-a-vis of Hollywood and New I'*?.."rhere is little tw«i*?u* '^"""8 appearing be- '^^l^'^^ °^ tliese literary Som»*^' « »'be finest, yet for some unexplainec reason iothing is Regardless of the Barbs, Fact Is HVood Does Want Superior Stories By ALAN JACKSON {Eastern Story Editor, Paramount') Alan Jackson Judging, from the annual lucubrations of such worthy reflectors of public opinion as The New York Times and Time, the year'1947 was a singularly poor one in fiction. "Worst off was fiction," gloomed Time after pointing out that non-fiction was none too hot either. Well, it hasn't been good and we felt it, too. It isn't much fun run- ning around to agents and pub- lishers like a benzedrined mefi- dicant pleading, for a gond lipvel' and . winding' Ufty, 'niptitH: : afte^ month with nothing you. can linii- estly recommend tp the stiidid, . Not that we, and the ptfier stu- dios too, didn't buy books we' believed in,4l>ut nonetheless the output of acceptable material was small. You hav.e all read the putative reasons for this state of affairs. We are told that we are still top near the latest war and the next one for writers to settle down and write. Or that the book clubs are to blame be- cause, as their circulation increases, their level of taste descends. Labor is blamed because manufacturing costs are now so high that publishers can't make .de- cent profits and must rely on-subsidiary rights to keep them out of the red. And, of course, and as always, Hollywood is blamed. ■Riree years ago I went into my present job. Before, I had worked on a Philadelphia magazine, leading a' pleasantly bucolic life. Hollywood was to us a place where stars often acted silly and whence issued pic- tures that we looked at Saturday nights. Some of these were good and some bad, but by the same token we were then publishing a minimuni of four short stories and installments of two serials every week and we knew the problem. Some of ours were Ulnk- ers, top. . So Hollywood seemed okay. I have now discovered, howeVerj that we' must have been wrong. As soon as I took my new job I was repeatedly and jubilantly told (by friends, outside the business, of course) that there is absolutely nothing okay about Hollywood and that Hollywood is to blame for every- thing. . • ' In my particular department this Is what we sup- posedly lio. We ruin writers. We stifle creation. We are illiterate. We cater to the subnormal. All We think about is a dollar. Folks, it just ain't true. And the more I ponder the relationship between Hollywood and tiie pubU^ing business, the more I wonder if the foot isn't in th« other shoe. That Ole Commercial Touch I Now I have never outgrown, and hope I never will, my love of the publishing business. But, considering some of the books published last year, could not every one of the above accusations be made just as glibly against the purveyors of our current reading matter? How many publishers do you know who don't think of a dollar, no matter how high their aspirations to publish good literature? Is there not one, for in- stance, known for tlie literary excellence of his lists who signs contracts unbelievably and outrageously to the financial advantage of his firm as against the normal expectancies of the. authorIs there, as a matter of fact, a single publisher who will not admit to the vei-y simple thought that in order to keep on publishing he must show a profit? The idea that it's high-minded and art if it loses money is childish, and yet persists. The publisher takes a flyer on a book he knows will not sell because of prestige or the. belief that the author's next will succeed. Of course, he cai^ do this only if he has a reserve of dollars. He is as mercenary as everybody, tells jne Hollywood is. But at a lesser risk. < I am not here trying to pit the publishing'com- panies and the motion picture companies against one another. I think we are in the same boat and tlie only thing that tires me is that Hollywood always gets the critical rap. Anybody who visits Hollywood from the iron-curtain-east wltli an objective mind will find much that he expected but will infallibly return with admiration for wliat is being attempted there and for the people who are sharing in the attempt. The point I am probably belaboredly making is that I see no great difference between the mass dispensing of flctio'n or non-fiction by motion pictures, books or magazines. I do not believe that Hollywood (a generic term) has in any way harmed literature (also a generic term) except by occasionally making it mpra profitable.. 'When we buy a completed nov.el we be- lieve it'is a good novel and we waiit ttsBs'such. If it is a work in progress, on which we have taken an option,, we bend over backwards not to influence its writing because after all. what we are '.after is a clistinguished novel. That, Of course, is plain good sense. .■■ ' ■: And, in conclusion, let me assure you that we arc no more trying to .make bad pictures than publisher* wish to print bad books. We know that slips show. 'Authors Are Getting Like Actors ' Some of the Mags And now to get back .to the little —or literary magazines^-ramong the 100 mentioned are Antioch Review, New Mexico Quarterly, Tomorrow (which pays $125, the highest for this type when considered that most magazines pay nothing but some do manage to dribble out $5, $10 and $25), Virginia Quarterly, Tanger, View, Westminister, Westway, Yan- kee, The Little Quarterly, Threshold, Husk, Irish Writing, Menorah Jour- nal, Kenyon Review, Sewanee He- view, Briarclifl! Quarterly, Different, Tlie Span, Sibylline, Wildfire, Com- mentary, Opportunity, Partisan Re- view, Southwest Review, Hollywood Quarterly, Malestream,' Embers, Haward Wake, Accent, Chimera, Crisis, Common Qround, Decade of Short Stories, Direction, etc. The list, lilcewise, doesn't include The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Harper's Bazaar or Ameri can Mercury because new writers— unlcnowns-r-have one chance in a ziUion of blossoming forth in print in these, as compared with the others. 'This despite the fact tfiat Harper's carried off six mentions, including first and second winners, in the 1947 Oi Henry Prize Awards. The sorcalled Academy compara^ tive for short story scribblers are the O. Henry and Martha Foley selections. Many writers grouped within tliese anthologies have won famous scholarships and foundation awards; they represent the epitome in writing from year to year; yet Hollywood and New York editotial parrots will squawk and froth at the lips over an alleged drought in new, fresh and invigorating writ- ing talent. It appears that a lot of valuable time is spent fmning and frothing instead of reading and writing, of and to the right sources. Authors are getting like actors. They like to see their names in the paper. Also pictures. Also radio ap- pearances. Ditto television,: maga- zine covers, column items, magazine storiestr-all types of publicity, Publishers, too, like to have their books and authors publicized. There's nothing revolutionary about this, of course, and book pro- motion still can't begin to compare, by and large, with Hollywood's drumbeating, but the book publish- ing industry is more aware today of the value of properly-directed pub- licity than at any time in its history. First of all and obviously enough, anything that will help increase immediate sales is good business. While publicity, like display adver- tising, radio time, sky writing, in fact like all forms of promotion (except that which is "keyed," such as ads carrying coupons) cannot always be credited with specific sales results, the book which is not promoted seldom sells-^except to "remainder" dealers. (Book pro- motion in general, includes adver- tising in a relatively limited number of newspapers and "quality" maga- zines. Publicity, posters, and less tangible forces, such as "word-of- mouth" also help move books from store to home shelves.) But in addition to publicity's value in helping iiftmediate sales, it can do much to aid reprint sales, sales to magazines and radio pro- grams and, of course, film rights. In addition, proper publicity may increase demand for an author's ap- pearances by radio networks and lecture managements. From a pub- Usher's point of view, author pub- licity is also an investment in author good-will, particularly in a competitive market. Authors, and their agentSi are growing. increas ingly aware of the importance of sound, professional publicity. ihe somewhat metaphysical term "prestige"- is also involved and al- though it won't help meet the land- lord's! monthly take, it definitely possesses Indirect financial value as well as being a.potent.psychological factor with writers. At one time book publicity con By BENN HALL sisted of little more than' sending review copies to book editors. Then short news items about books were' also issued. • ,.; But with the increasing emphasis on full-scale boplt publicity, more and more piiblishers and authors plan not only routine' or' Service'* publicity -work, ■ as -mentioned, but more creative • or ''ofl''the-book- page" publicity as well, Anflcs and Ootlete The possibilities for publicity within strictly literary confines are definitely limited. For , instance, there are over 1,700 dailies, but only about 100. cover fopoks and ^actually less than 50 give them extended treatment. And there are over 1,000 radio stations, but less than 50 sta- tions devote consistent and serious attention to book programs. ' There are over 7,000 "non-daily'* papers (weeklies, semi-weeklies,, etc.) but only a scant handful 'toum books as such. ■ . ,■ ; ■ But the alert book publicist has found that books ' possess definite appeal to newspaper and radio per- sonalities and that, show bu.siness, sports, charitable appeals and pos- sibly a few more classifications excepted, book news is quite gen- erously treated if it is professionally presented and "merchandised." Magazines such 'as Life, Look, N. Y. Times Magazine, Christian Science Monitor Magazine, Parade, American Weekly are among those which art "book-minded." Not only are the exclusive book programs "outlets" for book and author mate- rial, but forum, quiz, daytime,, other shows often use book publicity. Tie- ups, too, are sometimes possible with books being given as prizes in return for plugs. "Department" editors of news- papers, such as aviation, drama, etc., may be interested in news of books pertaining to their classifications. The columnists, including Broadway, Hollywood, political, etc., are quite book-minded. They expect exclusive and custom-made "items" and reach millions of readers who do not read regiilar book pages^ Authors and books ar« also of In- terest to television .tis'weU'.as radio producers,' while 'maitiy' miigazines, in addition to those listed,'are also willing to consider book and author features and .cover possibilities. For instance,, iti 'tvira consecutive -issues' Newsweek ' teatuMd' authors of newsworthy books—Sinclair Lewis ("Kingsblood .Seyal") an^ Bob Feller ("Stolkeout Stdry"). .. Various groups, ihcluding not only literary, but women's clubs, veteran, husiness, labor and other organiza* tions often-want authors As speakers, with some paying for the. privilege and Others offering publicity tieups and sometimes cooperating in the sale of .books with the author doing the autographing honors;- (Bob Fellj^r, incidentally, probaibly took the biggest risk when in one-day he signed several thousand copies of his "StrBceout Story" in Cleveland.) Authors respond to publicity de- mancls like any oth» group. Some are naturals, possessing the "feel" for publicity and instinctively knowing the'"angles." And some of these may even be photogenici This fortunate type also speak well and possess the 6harm and pose- which ' help those in the" public eye more than can be measured. Other authors may not be so en- dowed, but can be "developed." The author who is willing to listen to the p.a.; who will study newspaper and radio interviews; who wiU prepare himself, has little to worry about,- even if he doesn't naturally come by such talents as would mark a combination of Beau Brummel, Billy . Sunday, Noel Coward, Atlas and a Man of Distinction. . Book and autlior publicity can learn a great deal from Hollywood and Broadway, but it has its own peculairities and not every author or book could stand—or benefit— from the more flamboyant stunts of show business. But book publicity is beginning to come Of age and the increasing ties of the "litry" life with show biz is making publishers and authors aware of the dollar and cents valu6=—Immediately and for future stakes—of well-planned, SfH)» Icssional publicity campaigns.