MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
June 14 – June 21, 2006 Edition
Author John Grogan
Protests Publication
Of Inquirer Book
New York, NY/6/11/2007Journalist and author John Grogan is protesting the publication of a collection of his newspaper columns by Vanguard Press under the title, Bad Dogs Have More Fun. Grogan is the author of the hugely successful Marley & Me, and two newer titles, Bad Dog Marley and Marley: A Dog Like No Other, all of which were published by HarperCollins.
Apparently, Vanguard publisher Roger Cooper made the More Fun publishing deal directly with the Philadelphia Inquirer publisher Brian Tierney for columns Grogan wrote while working for the newspaper. Grogan found out about the project before he received an official Inquirer letter and offering him a cut of the profits.
Resentful that the Inquirer and Vanguard were coat-tailing on the success of Marley & Me without involving him in the process, Grogan had his agent Laurie Abkemeier of DeFiore and Company send a letter to sales reps for major bookstore chains telling them that he had not authorized the book. Both Cooper and Tierney described the situation as one of miscommunication, and Tierney said it was regretful that the letter reached Grogan after the fact.
Without the support of Grogan and sales reps, the title is likely not to perform well in the marketplace, Grogan’s agent indicated. While Tierney was eager to have Grogan’s involvement in the project, he said the loss of any revenue due to Grogan’s concerns would not represent a major loss of income to his $500 million company.
Vanguard Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, describes itself as “a collaboration between publisher and author.” Among its authors are David Morrell, Greg Bear, Eileen Goudge, Kyle Mills, Mark Gimenez, Tom Grace, and others, as well as selected commercial nonfiction projects such as the 30th Anniversary Edition of Roots by Alex Haley and Be a Real Estate Millionaire by Dean Graziosi.
