Jonathan Karp | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 2, 1964 |
| Alma mater | Brown University |
| Employer | Simon & Schuster |
Jonathan Karp is an American book editor, publisher, and writer. He is the publisher, president, and chief executive of Simon & Schuster, and has also led the company's flagship division. Karp also founded Twelve, an imprint at the Hachette Book Group, and was the editor-in-chief of Random House.[1][2][3]
Karp was born to a Jewish family[4] and raised in the Short Hills section of Millburn, New Jersey. His mother worked as a schoolteacher and his father served as chairman and chief executive officer at a bank.[5][6][7] Karp graduated from Brown University in 1986,[8] where he majored in American civilization and served as president and editor of the student publication, The Brown Daily Herald.[5][9][10][11] He wrote his master's thesis on Herman Wouk's novels.[12][13]
Karp wrote for The Washington Post in the mid 1980s,[14][15][16] then worked as a reporter for The Providence Journal and the Miami Herald.[5] He then relocated to New York City to pursue his interests in books and theatre.[5]
Karp joined Random House in 1989 as an editorial assistant, and by 2000 he was serving as vice president and senior editor.[17][18] In July 2000, he was promoted to the role of publisher of '@Random', the company's e-book branch,[19][20] and eventually worked his way up to editor-in-chief of Random House.[21][22] He worked for Random House for sixteen years, with one interruption; in 2000, he left the publisher to head producer Scott Rudin's office in New York (Scott Rudin Productions) as vice president of development.[20] However, he returned to Bertelsmann several weeks later.[20][23][24]
Karp then served as publisher and editor-in-chief of Twelve, an imprint he established within the Hachette Book Group in 2005, which publishes one book per month.[25][26][27] Fifteen of Twelve's first thirty books appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.[28]
In mid 2010, Karp left Hachette to become Simon & Schuster's publisher,[21][29] and was subsequently named president of the flagship division.[30][31] On 29 May 2020, he became the CEO of Simon & Schuster.[32] Karp was included in Publishers Weekly's 2022 list of 25 "book business change makers", or "seriously consequential individuals whose mark on the industry is indelible".[33] In his role as chief executive, Karp testified in a 2022 antitrust trial filed by the Department of Justice to prevent Penguin Random House from acquiring Simon & Schuster.[34]
In 2022, Simon & Schuster sold 900 autographed copies of Bob Dylan’s book of essays, “The Philosophy of Modern Song.” Accompanying each $600 book was a letter of authenticity signed by Karp, the publisher’s chief executive, indicating that the books had been hand signed by Dylan. According to a New York Times article, when the books arrived, readers immediately noticed that the autographs appeared to have been machine generated by an auto pen. While Simon & Schuster initially denounced the “online rumors,” intense pressure led the publishing house to send out an “acknowledgment” that the autograph had been rendered “in a penned replica form.” Buyers were then provided a refund. Karp and Simon & Schuster declined further comment. [35] Dylan later said "his decision to digitally sign" the books was an "error in judgment", according to the Los Angeles Times.[36]
Karp is the longtime editor of John McCain; the two collaborated with Mark Salter on Faith of My Fathers (1999), Worth the Fighting For (2002), Why Courage Matters (2004), and The Restless Wave (2018).[37]
In 2020, Alexandra Alter of The New York Times wrote, "As a publisher who has worked with both conservative and liberal public figures, Mr. Karp has developed a reputation for knowing which political books will work commercially and how to market them."[38] In 2021, he turned down a petition signed by approximately 200 staff members, opposing Simon & Schuster's decision to publish a memoir by Mike Pence. According to The Wall Street Journal, some staff said the deal "would be a betrayal of the company's promises to oppose bigotry and make minority employees feel safe", but Karp insisted Simon & Schuster is "committed to publishing a broad range of views".[39]
Karp met composer Seth Weinstein during their two-year apprenticeship at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, in Manhattan in 1996. The duo wrote The Kugelmass Affair, which is based on a short story by Woody Allen.[5]
In 2000, Karp co-directed Big Kiss: An Evening of Humiliating Audition Stories with Alford, who wrote Big Kiss: One Actor's Desperate Attempt to Claw His Way to the Top. The show featured Alford and other actors performing self-written monologues about their most embarrassing audition experiences.[40]
Karp and Weinstein's second musical, Heart Throb, premiered at the Producers Club in 2001.[5] The duo later collaborated on How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes, with Karp writing the book and lyrics. The Off-Broadway musical comedy, which is about a United Nations tour guide who realizes his ability to read minds after getting hit in the head by a melon, was first presented as I Know What You're Thinking in September 2000 at the New York International Fringe Festival and later ran at the arts complex New World Stages.[9][20][41][42]
In May 2011, Karp made a cameo appearance on the finale of Gossip Girl's fourth season ("The Wrong Goodbye"), in which he negotiates a manuscript deal with one of the show's main characters.[43][44][45] He later appeared on the season five episodes "The Jewel of Denial" (October 10, 2011) and "Father and the Bride" (January 23, 2012).[46][47]
