Ms. Canedy and Jonathan Karp, the CEO of Simon & Schuster, backed the purchase of Mr. Pence’s book as a pivotal record of the Trump presidency, arguing that publishers should buy books from across the political spectrum. Ms Canedy said she would continue to work on Mr Pence, Mr Robinson and Ms Dunbar titles.
Her departure comes at a tumultuous time for Simon & Schuster. In late 2020, Simon & Schuster’s parent company, ViacomCBS, signed a deal to sell it to another publishing house, Penguin Random House, but the acquisition has been subject to intense regulatory scrutiny and is being challenged in an antitrust lawsuit by the United States. Department of Justice . If it goes through, Simon & Schuster will be absorbed into a much bigger rival and could lose some of its autonomy; if the Justice Department blocks the deal, the company faces even more uncertainty.
A Simon & Schuster spokesperson said Mr. Karp, who was previously the publisher of Simon & Schuster before becoming its chief executive, “will become a publisher again in the near future” as he continues his work as head of the company.
Mrs. Canedy’s memoir, “A Journal for Jordan,” was made into a movie, directed by Denzel Washington, and released last year. Simon & Schuster said it had acquired the rights to its next book and plans to publish it in 2024. She described the book, tentatively titled “A Journey With Jordan,” as a collection of personal essays on resilience and reclaiming joy after loss.
It was a profound experience to have a film made about her life, she said.
“I can’t even describe what that’s like,” she said. “Everything from re-enacting the memorial at Arlington Cemetery, to having real soldiers appear and see this and cry, to my son learning more about his father through the film, to reliving my love story.”
She has constantly asked, she said, how she got through her loss.
“I feel compelled to write that,” she said.
