Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Breakdown: What’s Going On?

Although there was no corporate confirmation from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt yesterday to our item citing former executive editor Ann Patty to the effect that “a lot” of people had been let go at the publishing company, lots of rumors were floating around: 200 people cut from the Orlando division? 75 people at Riverside? Who’s still around in New York City? And it’s not just that nobody returned our call yesterday—none of the other usual publishing industry news sources had anything to add to the story by the end of the day, either.

The only thing we feel reasonably certain discussing is actually related to the “freeze” on new acquisitions and the subsequent resignation of publisher Rebecca Saletan: Critically acclaimed writer Chris Offutt has confided to us that he has withdrawn his latest collection of short stories from consideration at HMH in direct response to her departure. He had been talking with Saletan about the collection, titled Luck, for several months, and they had reached what he described as a “firm agreement” before she resigned. “I love Becky,” Offutt emailed us, “and have a deep respect for her decision… If no Becky, then no me.” (An attempt to reach Offutt’s literary agent for independent confirmation Wednesday morning was unsuccessful.)

So, basically, if you hear anything about what the heck is happening at HMH, feel free to email us or mention it here. UPDATE: It’s a “sad day in Orlando,” we’re told from a source on the inside, with many executive-level staffers getting cut.

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