sk b1 rollout fdr- public affairs proposal for publication of report with withdrawal notice 507

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P U B L I C A F F A T R SNovember 18, 2003

Mr. Philip D. ZelikowExecutive DirectorNational Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States301 7th Street SW, Suite 5125Washington, DC 20407DearPhilip:PublicAffairs is pleased to submit a proposal for the publication of the 9-11 Commission's reportin book form. Enclosed with this letter is a formal proposal in which we address each of yourseven criteria and questions point by point-As you will see, some of the answers we provide depend on unknown factors. It is difficult, forexample, for us to determine the exact price of the final book without knowing how long themanuscript will be. And so we present you with various possible scenarios. We understand thatthis is an on-going process and that our answers will likely change as the project develops.Perhaps the most important question in determining the nature of our relationship is howmucheditorial involvement and support you would like from us. We can provide as little or as mucheditorial input as you need. On one extreme, we can serve as a packager and distributor for the/report. We would page, print, and bind the report, turning the manuscript into a finished/paperback within 72 hours. In this scenario, while we would put all of our distribution, marketing

and publicity muscle behind the book, we wouldnot bring added editorial value to the project.On the other extreme, we could serve as editorial consultants and advisors to the project, helpingyou to consolidate the reports from the eight individual work teams and shape them into acomplete, cohesive, and compelling single narrative. The goal would be to create anauthoritativeas well as highly readableaccount of the attacks of September 11, 2001 as wellas analysisand recommendations on how to prevent such attacks in the future. In this scenario,we would supply editorial services as the report is being written, and publish the book at themoment the report is released to the public.There is much gray area between these two extremes. The degree of our editorial involvement inthe project will have to do with (1) your desire for editorial help, (2) our access to theinformation, and (3) timing. It is imperative that the bookwhatever its shapebe publishedsimultaneously with the report's public release. That may prove to be the factor that most impactsthe level of our editorial involvement.Why is PublicAffairs uniquely positioned to publish the Commission's report?There are two main reason: (1) confidentiality and (2) experience.

2 5 0 West. 57th Sireer, Suite 1 3 2 1 N ew York. New York 1 0 1 0 7tel 212397 6 6 6 6 . fax 2 1 2 397 4 2 7 7 . e-mail [email protected]


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First, let us address the issue of confidentiality.PublicAffairs is a 15-person, independentcompany. This is not the norm. Most publishers are part of a larger media conglomerate.HarperCollins is owned by Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp (Fox, The New York Post); Simon &Schuster is owned by Sumner Redstone's Viacom (CBS, MTV); Little Brown and Warner Booksare owned by AOL-Time Warner (CNN, Time); and Henry Holt's Times Books is affiliated withthe New York Times. Publishers that are not directly owned by media conglomerates are often panof a larger international entity, such as Knopf and RandomHouse, which are owned byBertelsmann. PublicAffairs does not have any confusing institutional or media affiliations. Weare beholden only to ourselves and to our authors. It is crucial that the Commission's work not beperceived as having a conflict of interest by association with any foreign entity, televisionnetwork, newspaper, or other media outlet. Independenceand confidentialityare the key.Second, experience. PublicAffairs is small, fast, and agile. There is no bureaucracy to f ightthrough and no red tape. You will have immediate access to a team that will be devoted to yourproject. The publishing experience will be a partnershipof equals rather than a publisher/clientrelationship. Unlike the experience at a larger company, where your book may be one of many, atPublicAffairs, your book will be a top priority on a small and select list. You will benefit from thespeed and attention of a focused team, but you will also have the vast academic and trade salesnetwork of the Perseus Books Group as well as the distribution force of HarperCollins.Our past experience speaks for itself. A previous memo to you mentioned three PublicAffairstitles that intersect with the Commission's subject and needs. They are an eclectic bunch: TheStarr Report, The Tiananmen Papers, an d How Did This Happen: Terrorismand the New War.Here again is the relevance of those projects:(1) The Starr Report, a public domain document, was published on the day of its release inSeptember 1998. We worked hi conjunction with the Washington Post, which gave us a disc ofthe report and their stories about the report. We produced and shipped a book in 72 hours, pricedat $10. The Starr Report was. as you doubtless recall, a bestseller (net of our edition: 155,840copies). The point is that despite the availability of the report on the Web and in newspapers,hundreds of thousands of people wanted to own the book version. The report of the 9-11Commission would be a similar phenomenon; people will buy it in book form because it is ahistorical document, a memento, a keepsakea necessary cornerstone to any educated person'spersonal library.(2) The Tiananmen Papery is the inside story of the Chinese leadership's decision to use force toquash student protests in Tiananmen Square in June 1989- The book was published in hardcoverin January 2001. The relevance here is that the project was compiled and published in completesecrecy. The editors, Andrew Nathan of Harvard and Perry Link of Princeton, worked veryclosely with us to create a narrative from thousands of pages of documents smuggled out of Chinaby a secret, high-ranking source within the Chinese government. As you may recall, publicationcreated a front-page news sensation and, after the predictable questions about veracity, the bookhas become an accepted and respected version of events. It was published in paperback in June2002.


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(3) How Did This Happen? was published immediately after September 11,2001. It consists ofessays commissioned by us and Foreign Affai r s . Published as a trade paperback priced at $14, itwas widely read and discussed in part because we worked with the Council on Foreign Relationsto create discussion panels across thenation, which were filmed and broadcast by C-SPAN.The 9-11 Commission report is obviouslyamodel unto itself, bu t we would apply elements of allthese books in our support.Finally, publicity: The release of the report will be amajor event and you w J O U obviously havemany resources in dealing with thepress. We can help. PubltcAffairs has experience inhandlingsuch high-profile projects andPeter Osnos, as aformer reporter and editor at the Washington Postand as a publisher for many years, has been involved in many subjects on this scale. We have themedia contacts and publicity finesse to get the book the attention it deserves.We speak for our colleagues when we say that we are eager to work with you and your colleagueson obtaining the clearest possible hearing for the Commission f indings . PublicAffai rs was createdin 1997 with the mission to publish intelligent works of nonfiction that help readers betterunderstand the complicated world in which we live. Every year, we devote our energies topublishing only forty original hardcover books. We are very careful to select titles that fit theprofi le of our companyserious, thought-provoking books on issues that matter, written for a layaudience. The 9-11Commission's report could not fit our mandate more perfectly. We lookforward to part icipating in this historic project.Sincerely,

Peter Osnos Kate DarntonPublisher and Chief Executive Senior Editor


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W I T H D R A W A L N O T I C ERG: 148Box: 00001 Folder: 0001 Document: 3Series: Stephanie Kaplan FilesCopies: 1 Pages: 7

ACCESS RESTRICTEDThe item identified below has been withdrawn from this file:

Folder Title: Roll-OutDocument Date: 11-18-2003Document Type: PaperSpecial Media:From:To:

Subject: Public Affairs proposal for publication of Commission final report

In the review of this file this item was removed because access to it isrestricted. Restrictions on records in the National Archives are stated ingeneral and specific record group restriction statements which are availablefo r examination.

NND: 301Withdrawn: 06-06-2008 b)RETRIEVAL #: 301 00001 0001 3System DocID: 2590

sk b1 rollout fdr- public affairs proposal for publication of report with withdrawal notice 507

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