Out at Fox, In at Holt

Bill O’Reilly, the creator of the so-called ‘no-spin zone’ has now entered the no job zone.

Contentious and conservative, Bill O’Reilly arrived early at Fox News and was the critical factor in driving success the new network. As a best-selling author, O’Reilly has also been the success factor at Henry Holt, a leading New York publishing house.

This week, the Murdoch media family put out a contract on its top don, but publisher Henry Holt plans to stand by their man.

“Bill O’Reilly, the gold standard in conservative cable TV for two decades, and the creator of the so-called ‘no-spin zone’ has now entered the no job zone,” reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer. “After the New York Times reported that O’Reilly and Fox had settled multiple sexual harassment claims, the network told him not to return from his vacation.

“But in addition to his TV presence, O’Reilly has been a mainstay of the Henry Holt list for years – and that is not changing. The Macmillan imprint told PW that it has no intention of altering its support of the bestselling author,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.

O’Reilly’s Killing series, written with Martin Dugard, has been a consistent bestseller with roughly 15.5 million copies in print worldwide. The most recent title, Killing the Rising Sun, was the top-selling adult nonfiction book in 2016, selling over one million print units.

Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.