News & Reviews

WORD: One down, one to go -- Lyons Press picks up notorious Mickey Mantle novel

When HarperCollins fired Judith Regan and shelved two notorious books that the provocative exec had on tap for ReganBooks, you just knew they  would show up somewhere else. Last week, Globe Pequot Press imprint Lyons Press said it would release author Peter Golenbock’s 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel on April 3, 2007.

Lyons Press, which publishes a variety of sports-related titles, plans to print a whopping 250,000 copies of 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel in its first edition. As Lyons associate publisher Eugene Brissie said in a press release, "Peter is a terrific storyteller with a great track record, and we’re proud to have him on our list. 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel is a book that absolutely deserves to be published."

ReganBooks, a now defunct imprint, was originally slated to publish 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel as part of its Spring 2007 catalogue, but amid the fallout from Regan’s attempted O.J. Simpson book If I Did It, HarperCollins fired Regan in December and scuttled both titles.

Mantle’s family and former teammates have criticized the novel, which includes a made-up, steamy encounter with Marilyn Monroe, and HarperCollins now appears gun-shy when it comes to controversy.

Now that the Mantle novel is seeing publication, we would bet a boatload of cash that If I Did It shows up at another publisher in about one year -- when HarperCollins’ rights to the manuscript expire.

Golenbock is a longtime author whose previous books include Dynasty, Personal Fouls and Red Sox Nation.

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