George Platt Brett Jr.
Born(1893-12-09)December 9, 1893
Darien, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedFebruary 11, 1984(1984-02-11) (aged 90)
Southport, Connecticut, U.S.
OccupationPublisher
Known forPublisher of Gone with the Wind
Head of Macmillan Publishers (United States)
SpouseIsabel Stevenson Yeomans
ChildrenGeorge Platt Brett III
Bruce Yeomans Brett
Parent

George Platt Brett Jr. (December 9, 1893 – February 11, 1984) served at Chairman of the American division of Macmillan Publishing and secured publishing rights to Gone With the Wind.[1]

Biography

Career

George Brett started with Macmillan in 1913 as a traveling salesman and took over as President of Macmillan in 1931. Brett took over as chairman in 1936 after the death of his father, George Platt Brett Sr.[2][3][4]

Brett is best known for having "scored one of publishing's all-time triumphs by gaining the rights to 'Gone With the Wind.'[1] The success of Gone with the Wind from 1935 to 1936 lead to bonuses of 18% to all employees at Macmillan. Additional literary success under Brett were Rachael Filed's All This and Heaven Too and Katleen Winsor's Forever Amber.[5] In addition, Brett published notable authors C. S. Lewis and Marianne Moore.[6]

In 1939, Brett promoted a special motion picture edition of Gone with the Wind at the same time the film was being released. Brett was the first to introduce marketing a book and movie at the same time. This was perhaps the earliest instance in the book publishing industry of the "tie-in," a marketing strategy which involves a mass media commodity appearing simultaneously in several formats that advertise each other.[7]

In 1944 Brett fought efforts by the British Publisher Bureau to corner the American market for British publishing houses.[8] In 1951, Brett bought the US division from London based Macmillan Publishing. At this time Macmillan was the second largest publisher in the United States[9]

Brett was succeeded by his son, Bruce Y. Brett in 1958.[6]

Military and Public Service

Memberships

Personal life

Brett was born in Darien, Connecticut, and attended the Salisbury School in his home state and the Collegiate School in New York City. Brett was married to Isabel Stevenson Yeomans.[1][11] He died in 1984.[12]

See also

Bibliography

Additional information

References

  1. ^ a b c d Saxon, Wolfgang (February 15, 1984). "George P. Brett is dead at 91; Headed Macmillan Company". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  2. ^ James, Elizabeth (2002). Macmillan A Publishing Tradition. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 187. ISBN 0-333-73517-X.
  3. ^ "Macmillan, Inc. - Company Profile". Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  4. ^ Young 1995, p. 7
  5. ^ McKitterick, David. A History of Cambridge University press Volume III: New Worlds for Learning 1873–1972. p. 308.
  6. ^ a b Kobrak, Fred. The Structure of International Publishing in the 1990s. p. 31.
  7. ^ Young 1995, p. 8
  8. ^ Ninkovich, Frank. The Diplomacy of Ideas: US Foreign Policy and Cultural Relations, 1938–1950. pp. 89–90.
  9. ^ "PUBLISHING: Crofter's Crop". Time. January 22, 1951. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  10. ^ Garland, Hamlin. Roadside Meetings. p. 397.
  11. ^ "Many Betrothals in Early Autumn" (PDF). The New York Times. September 14, 1916. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  12. ^ Moritz, Charles, ed. (1984). Current Biography Yearbook. New York: H. W. Wilson Company. p. 469.

Sources

Preceded byGeorge Platt Brett Sr. Macmillan Publishing USA Chairman 1936–1958 Succeeded byBruce Brett
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