Michener Threatens to Leave Random House: Author...

Michener Threatens to Leave Random House: Author James A. Michener said he may leave Random House for what he calls “some small (publishing) house obedient to the old traditions.” Michener, who has had more than 30 books published by Random House, said he had been upset by recent developments at the publisher. The writer cited the forced resignation of Robert Bernstein as president of Random House; Bernstein’s replacement with Alberto Vitale, and the forced resignation of Andre Schiffrin as managing director of Pantheon Books, a Random House subsidiary. He urged Vitale and S. I. Newhouse, whose family owns Random House, to “step forward and define their understanding of how the world’s major English-language publisher should conduct its business.” If they do, he added, “I will sign a new contract with a sigh of relief.”