THE INVASION OF LAODICEA
SIR,—John Rossclli is so well informed about the general trends in British publishing--and writes about them so entertainingly—that it is a pity he is not too accurate when it comes to details. My attention has just been drawn to his article in which reference is made to this company as 'a middling firm' and as 'a "one-man" show.' With these strange descrip- tions I will not quarrel, since he is using them in a specialised sense, but I take exception to the way in which he describes us, namely as publishers of
'popular books with the odd Edmund Wilson and Alan Sillitoe thrown in.' He cannot be equating popularity with sales, because he would otherwise have to agree that Messrs. Wilson and Sillitoe are very popular writers. He is presumably implying therefore that most of out books are not Serious, I. will say no more than that Edmund Wilson and Alan Sillitoe may be rather more representative than Mr. Rosselli believes.
1 have not checked with Mr. Mark Goulden, who is abroad, but I am certain that he has never pointed out that American publishers sell books to the Commonwealth in breach of agreements with British publishers. There is nothing to prevent American publishers from selling books of American origin to the Commonwealth, and Mr. Gould:3A was merely saying that such sales occur all the time. Where. however, an American publisher assigns British rights in an American book, :he British publisher insists on exclusivity in Common- Wealth markets (with the usual exception of Canada), There is no reason therefore to assume that American investment in British publishing offers Americans a key to the Commonwealth market which they do not already have, or that it will weaken Britain's position in that market.
JEFFREY S1MMON4 W. H. Allen 8 Company, 43 Essex Street, Strand. WC2
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