Carol Publishing Group was an American

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

company.

Lyle Stuart Lyle Stuart (born Lionel Simon; August 11, 1922June 24, 2006) was an American author and independent publisher of controversial books. He worked as a newsman for years before launching his publishing firm, Lyle Stuart, Incorporated. A former pa ...

founded its predecessor around 1955. Steven Schragis bought Stuart's publishing business in early 1989, renaming it to Carol Publishing. Carol was a going concern from its 1989 sale to its bankruptcy in 2000;

Kensington Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New York-based publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William"Walter Zacharius, Romance Publisher, Dies at 87,"''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender ...

bought its assets after Carol liquidated. It was mainly known for salacious titles about celebrities.

Early history and sale (1955–1989)

The organization that was to become Carol Publishing Group began around 1955, when

established Lyle Stuart, Inc., a publishing outfit later based in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264, Stuart sold his eponymous company, and its imprints Citadel Press and University Books, to Carol Management for US$12 million, effective January 9, 1989. The deal was orchestrated by Steven Schragis, then the executive vice president of Carol Management. After the sale closed, Schragis took over control of the new entity, known initially as Carol Communications. Carol Management was a family business and Schragis was a member of the family that controlled it. The name "Carol" was Schragis's mother's and his purchase from Lyle Stuart was financed with a loan from his parents, aunt, and Carol Management itself.

Operations, litigation, and bankruptcy (1989–2000)

Carol's business model focused on

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

and

publicity In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization (company, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) ...

. An encyclopedia of publishing suggests that Schragis, in his role as Carol's head, "exemplified the ' hard-sell' accountant-publisher mentality of today taken to perhaps its furthest extreme". A 2001 profile of Schragis said Carol was known for its "lowbrow celebrity bios"; ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' called Carol a publisher of "salacious star biographies". Carol published several unauthorized biographies and distributed (but did not itself publish) a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

manual called ''

Final Exit ''Final Exit'' (fully titled ''Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying'') is a 1991 book written by Derek Humphry, a British-born American journalist, author, and assisted suicide advocate who co-f ...

'' by

Derek Humphry Derek Humphry (born 29 April 1930) is a British-born American journalist and author notable as a proponent of legal assisted suicide and the right to die. In 1980, he co-founded the Hemlock Society and, in 2004, after that organization dissolv ...

, an advocate of the

right to die The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings are entitled to end their life or undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood that a person with a terminal illness, incurable pain, or without t ...

. An

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

named after Lyle Stuart published books by

Kahlil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...

. Carol made a foray into artificial intelligence with the 1993 romance novel '' Just This Once'', about three quarters of which was written by a computer. In 1990, Carol won an appeal in the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

that allowed it to publish ''A Piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed'', a biography of

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...

, who founded the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

. The book contained quotations from Hubbard's writings totaling about 3 percent of the biography.

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

sued Carol over ''The Joy of Trek: How to Enhance Your Relationship with a "Star Trek" Fan'', which Paramount said infringed its copyright in ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

''. Carol lost. It lost again in '' Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group Inc.'' (1998), where the Second Circuit, affirming the trial judgment by

Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...

, found that Carol's ''Seinfeld Aptitude Test'', a trivia book about ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'', infringed

Castle Rock Entertainment Castle Rock Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a label of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself a subsidiar ...

's copyright in the show. Around April 1999, a sale of Carol to LPC Group, a book distributor, appeared imminent. As of that time, Carol published 100–125 new books each year and had a

backlist A backlist is a list of older books available from a publisher. This is opposed to newly-published titles, which is sometimes known as the frontlist. Business Building a strong backlist has traditionally been considered the best method to produ ...

of 1,300. The deal fell through. Carol filed for bankruptcy on November 15, 1999. Its assets were sold in 2000 to

. As of 1998, Carol was headquartered at 120 Enterprise Avenue, Secaucus, New Jersey. Its booklist covered most commercial categories. Its Citadel imprint was the second-largest entertainment book publisher in the United States. Carol's editor-in-chief was Hillel Black.

References

{{Authority control 1955 establishments in the United States 2000 disestablishments in New Jersey Book publishing companies based in New Jersey Defunct companies based in New Jersey Secaucus, New Jersey Companies based in Hudson County, New Jersey Mass media in Hudson County, New Jersey