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Author Shulman's new book is the first offering of Bernard Geis Associates, which claims to have hit upon "a new concept of book publishing and book merchandising." It may not be new, but it is mighty neat. To promote his Dwarf, Author Shulman recently made TV guest appearances on Ralph Edwards' Truth or Consequences and Art Linkletter's Houseparty, is soon expected on What's My Line? Next month Dobie Gillis becomes the hero of a CBS-TV series, and billowing ads will praise Dwarf in Esquire, Coronet, and probably in Look. By a funny coincidence, the following are among the partners in Bernard Geis Associates: Houseparty's Art Linkletter (10%);Truth or Consequences' Ralph Edwards (10%); What's My Line? Producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman (10%); Esquire and Coronet publisher Esquire, Inc. (10%); Look publisher Cowles Magazines, Inc. (10%).
The man who thought up this remainder-proof scheme is Art Linkletter, and the man who operates it is Linkletter's old friend Bernard Geis, 49, a sharp promoter who knows how to judge a buck by its coverage. Berney Geis was on the original staff of Esquire, also worked as co-editor of Coronet before moving into the book business with Grosset & Dunlap in 1945. After a private venture flopped, he went to Prentice-Hall, quit last year when Linkletter came to him.
Citing a Gallup poll, which suggested that only 17% of Americans regularly read books, Geis says that Bernard Geis Associates will be "doing America a great service by harnessing TV's power" to increase the amount of reading in the U.S. Geis's fall selections: a new book on kids by Partner Linkletter, an autobiography by Groucho Marx (another partner), and Dear Teen-Ager by Syndicated Lovelornist Abigail Van Buren. As for Shulman's Dwarf, Geis Associates is on the third printing, may harvest as many as 60,000 prepublication orders.