Jonathan Karp

Jonathan Karp
Born(1964-04-02)April 2, 1964
New Jersey, USA
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationBrown University
EmployerSimon & Schuster

Jonathan Karp (born April 2, 1964) is an American book editor, publisher, and writer. He was the publisher, president, and chief executive of Simon & Schuster, where he 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.

Early life and education

Karp was born to a Jewish family and raised in the Short Hills section of Millburn, New Jersey. His mother worked as a schoolteacher and his father was chairman and chief executive officer at a bank. Karp graduated from Brown University in 1986, where he majored in American civilization and served as president and editor of the student publication, The Brown Daily Herald. He wrote his master's thesis on Herman Wouk's novels.

Career

Karp wrote for The Washington Post in the mid-1980s, then worked as a reporter for The Providence Journal and the Miami Herald. He then relocated to New York City to pursue his interests in books and theater.

Karp joined Random House in 1989 as an editorial assistant, and by 2000 he was a vice president and senior editor. In July 2000, he was promoted to the role of publisher of '@Random', the company's e-book branch, and he eventually became editor-in-chief of Random House. He worked for Random House for 16 years, with one interruption; in 2000, he joined producer Scott Rudin's office in New York (Scott Rudin Productions) as vice president of development. He returned to Bertelsmann several weeks later.

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. Fifteen of Twelve's first thirty books appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.

In 2010, Karp left Hachette to become Simon & Schuster's publisher. He was later named president of the flagship division. On 29 May 2020, he became the CEO of Simon & Schuster. 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". 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.

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 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 generated by an autopen. Simon & Schuster initially denounced the "online rumors", but 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 given a refund. Karp and Simon & Schuster declined further comment. Dylan later said "his decision to digitally sign" the books was an "error in judgment", according to the Los Angeles Times.

Karp was John McCain's longtime editor; they collaborated with Mark Salter on Faith of My Fathers (1999), Worth the Fighting For (2002), Why Courage Matters (2004), and The Restless Wave (2018).

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." 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".

In August 2025, Karp stepped down from his role as CEO and launched the imprint Simon Six.

Theater and television

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.

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 monologues they wrote about their most embarrassing audition experiences.

Karp's and Weinstein's second musical, Heart Throb, premiered at the Producers Club in 2001. 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, 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.

In May 2011, Karp made a cameo appearance in 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. He later appeared on the season five episodes "The Jewel of Denial" (October 10, 2011) and "Father and the Bride" (January 23, 2012).

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Elizabeth A. (2025-08-26). "Simon & Schuster Leader to Step Down". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  2. ↑ Harris, Elizabeth A. (2020-05-28). "Simon & Schuster Names Jonathan Karp C.E.O." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  3. ↑ Milliot |, Jim. "Karp Named CEO of Simon & Schuster". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  4. ↑ "Simon & Schuster | Jonathan Karp". simonandschusterpublishing.com. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  5. ↑ Times of Israel: "The Good Old Days Of The Future Of Publishing" by Susan Reimer Archived 2018-08-10 at the Wayback Machine December 16, 2012
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lee, Felicia R. (August 7, 2004). "Critic's Notebook; Double Life as Editor and Lyricist". The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Donald M. Karp, Secretary". Thirteen.org. Tisch WNET: THIRTEEN Media. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  8. ↑ Nadler, Paul (September 1, 1998). "Weekly Advisor: Has New Jersey Bank Got Its Fair Share in Community's Comeback?". American Banker. SourceMedia. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017 – via HighBeam Research.
  9. ↑ Brown University:
  10. 1 2 Schwartzapfel, Beth (January–February 2007). "His True Loves". Brown Alumni Magazine. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  11. ↑ Eugenides, Jeffrey; Moody, Rick; Lowry, Lois; Robinson, Marilynne; Cheever, Susan (May 20, 2014). The Brown Reader: 50 Writers Remember College Hill. Simon & Schuster. p. 107. ISBN 9781476765204. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  12. ↑ "The Brown Daily Herald" (PDF). Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University. January 23, 1985. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  13. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (November 12, 2012). "At 97, He Has a Book (or 2) Left". The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  14. ↑ Boog, Jason (April 9, 2012). "96-Year-Old Novelist Herman Wouk Lands Book Deal". Adweek. Prometheus Global Media. ISSN 0199-2864. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  15. ↑ "How Real Is 'Rambo'?". The Washington Post. July 8, 1985.
  16. ↑ "Brown's Four Famous Freshmen". The Washington Post. August 29, 1985.
  17. ↑ "Reputed Md. Gang Member Gets 32 Years in Murder". The Washington Post. August 30, 1986.
  18. ↑ Reid, Calvin (August 7, 2000). "PW: Random House, Modern Library to Offer E-books". Publishers Weekly. 246 (32). ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  19. ↑ Bronson, Po; Dooling, Richard; Garcia, Eric; Hond, Paul; Krist, Gary (February 20, 2001). Men Seeking Women: Love and Sex On-line. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 9780679647171. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  20. ↑ Bing, Jonathan (September 18, 2000). "Booked Solid: Three giants expand their e-publishing horizons". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. ISSN 0042-2738. OCLC 810134503. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Goldman, Andrew (February 12, 2001). "Hollywood's Second-Oldest Story: Jon Karp Signs with Rudin, Flees". New York Observer. Observer Media. ISSN 1052-2948. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  22. 1 2 Bosman, Julie (June 3, 2010). "Head of Boutique Publisher Joins Simon & Schuster". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  23. ↑ Bosman, Julie (September 15, 2010). "Boutique Publisher Names New Chief". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  24. ↑ Kolker, Robert. "Waiting for Godoff". New York: 3. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  25. ↑ Snyder, Gabriel (March 19, 2001). "Another Dot-Com Dream Punctured: Random House Scaling Back E-Books". New York Observer. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ Donadio, Rachel (February 3, 2008). "Waiting for It". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  27. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 2, 2010). "Simon & Schuster Shakeup: David Rosenthal Out and Jonathan Karp In". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  28. ↑ Kellogg, Carolyn (June 3, 2010). "Simon & Schuster grabs innovative publisher Jonathan Karp". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  29. ↑ Ferrari-Adler, Jofie (November–December 2009). "Agents & Editors: A Q&A with Editor Jonathan Karp". Poets & Writers. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  30. ↑ Boog, Jason (June 3, 2010). "Jonathan Karp to Replace David Rosenthal as Simon & Schuster Publisher". Adweek. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  31. ↑ Dilworth, Dianna (February 22, 2016). "Simon & Schuster to Publish Book on Tiger Woods". Adweek. Beringer Capital. ISSN 0199-2864. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  32. ↑ Kinane, Ruth (January 4, 2017). "Carrie Fisher's books rush to reprint after sales were 'wiped out by demand'". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. ISSN 1049-0434. OCLC 21114137. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Simon & Schuster names Jonathan Karp as new CEO". The Hindu. 29 May 2020.
  34. ↑ Coffey, Michael; Kirch, Claire; Albanese, Andrew; Maughan, Shannon (April 19, 2022). "They Made a Difference: 25 Book Business Change Makers". Publishers Weekly.
  35. ↑ Waldman, Katy (August 16, 2022). "Is Publishing About Art or Commerce?". The New Yorker.
  36. ↑ Tumin, Remy (23 November 2022). "Bob Dylan Gets Tangled up in Book Autograph Controversy". The New York Times.
  37. ↑ Saad, Nardine. "Bob Dylan blames vertigo and pandemic for use of autopen to sign 'autographed' books". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  38. ↑ "John McCain memoir, 'The Restless Wave,' coming in April". USA Today. Associated Press. October 20, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  39. ↑ Alter, Alexandra (June 17, 2020). "In the Race for Trump Tell-Alls, Simon & Schuster Is Leading". The New York Times.
  40. ↑ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A.; Glazer, Emily (May 21, 2021). "Inside the Simon & Schuster Blowup Over Its Mike Pence Book Deal". The Wall Street Journal.
  41. ↑ Maher, John; Stewart, Sophia; Spratford |, Sam. "Jonathan Karp to Step Down as S&S CEO to Head New Imprint, Simon Six". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  42. ↑ "Jonathan Karp to Step Down as CEO of Simon & Schuster and Launch the Company's Newest Imprint, Simon Six". www.simonandschuster.com. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  43. ↑ Tierney, John (April 12, 2000). "The Big City; Now Staging a Revival: Humiliation". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Jonathan Karp: From the Page to the Stage". Broadway.com. Key Brand Entertainment. November 14, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  45. ↑ Gates, Anita (November 16, 2006). "Theater Review: 'How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes'; Listening for Love". The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  46. ↑ Yin, Maryann (May 17, 2011). "Jonathan Karp Cameo on 'Gossip Girl' TV Show". Adweek. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  47. ↑ Duray, Dan (May 17, 2011). "Jonathan Karp on His Gossip Girl Cameo". New York Observer. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  48. ↑ Pressler, Jessica; Rovzar, Chris (May 17, 2011). "Gossip Girl Recap: Maybe We're Growing Up After All". Vulture.com. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  49. ↑ Pressler, Jessica (January 24, 2012). "Gossip Girl Recap: There's a Fine Line Between Surveillance and Stalking". Vulture.com. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  50. ↑ Greenhouse, Emily (December 21, 2012). "Farewell, "Gossip Girl"". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. ISSN 0028-792X. OCLC 320541675. Retrieved January 31, 2017.

Further reading

External audio
audio icon Writer Laura Hillenbrand, Jonathan Karp of Random House: Fresh Air, July 29, 2003, NPR