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ASTOR-HONOR: A HISTORY |
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In 1956, Ivan Obolensky, a writer, and David McDowell
(1918-1985), a prestigious editor out of Random House, founded the first
incarnation of this publishing house, then called McDowell, Obolensky, Inc.
By 1957, just a year later, the fledgling company was very much on the
literary map, thanks to the posthumous publication of James Agee’s A Death
in the Family, which promptly won the Pulitzer Prize, as did the play
version, entitled All the Way Home by Tad Mosel, which garnered the Drama
Critics Award as well.
This auspicious launch was soon followed by an international roster of
literary luminaries, including Nigeria’s Chinua Achebe (No Longer at Ease,
Things Fall Apart); Ireland’s John Broderick (The Fugitives,
The
Chameleons); and J.P. Donleavy (The Ginger Man); Joan Didion (Run River) and
William Carlos Williams (The Selected Letters of William Carlos Williams,
Yes, Mrs. Williams: A Personal Memoir of My Mother).
In 1960, when David McDowell left to join Crown Publishers, the firm was
renamed Ivan Obolensky, Inc. William Raney of Henry Holt joined the company
as its new editor, and a year later, John Ledes arrived on the scene to
oversee the company’s financial and backroom operations. Arnold Leo, also
from Henry Holt, succeeded Raney in 1963. Like his predecessors, the eye was
on the prize—the Pulitzer Prize—and the search continued on for likely
winning authors. Profit was not their primary impetus for publishing a book.
That was about to change when, in 1963, John Ledes succeeded in signing
Ladislas Farago, the World War II U.S. Navy intelligence officer whose work
with the high command helped to crack the German military code. His first
book, The Tenth Fleet, was soon followed by Patton: Ordeal and Triumph, a
major bestseller upon which the blockbuster movie was based. The general’s
family, however, opposed the publication of the work that disclosed the
outspoken general’s sometimes controversial views. The ensuing lawsuit was
moved to the New York Federal Court, but the company won the case, thereby
securing Patton’s place in history even more indelibly than before as a
result.
Obolensky turned down opportunities to buy various publishing houses,
including one from Holt Rinehart, but eventually he did sell his company to
John Ledes in 1965.
From that point forward, the company, now named Astor-Honor Inc., focused on
selling the backlist and its line of Astor Book children’s titles, which
were the strongest sellers. Among many others, the authors include Leo
Lionni, whose titles Inch by Inch, Little Blue and Little Yellow, and
On My
Beach, There Are Many Pebbles are considered archetypes of their genre.
Inch
by Inch became an international favorite and was translated into both French
and Spanish.
Today, after 30 years in business, Astor-Honor continues to publish a
diverse and select array of fiction, nonfiction and children’s books.
Today, as a niche publishing house, Astor-Honor is dedicated to the premise
of preserving a special kind of children’s literature, all too often lost to
future generations, as well as the ongoing publication of both fiction and
non-fiction titles whose value and influence in the annals of literature are
inestimable.
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© 2005-2010 Astor-Honor. All Rights Reserved. |
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Astor-Honor™ is a registered trademarks of Astor-Honor, Inc. |
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This is the official website for Astor-Honor, Inc. |
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