Oscar Dystel facts for kids

Oscar Dystel (born October 31, 1912 – died May 28, 2014) was an American publisher. He was a pioneer in creating paperback books. His company, Bantam Books, published many bestselling paperback versions of famous novels. These included Catcher in the Rye, Jaws, and Ragtime. Under his leadership, Bantam became a leading publisher of affordable paperback books.

Early Life and Education

Oscar Dystel was born in the Bronx, New York, on October 31, 1912. His parents met while working in a clothing factory. Later, they ran a tailor shop, and his father also owned a liquor store in Connecticut. When he was a child, Oscar dreamed of playing the violin.

Dystel attended New York University on a scholarship for track and field. While studying, he worked as a typesetter for The Times newspaper. He graduated in 1935 with a degree in advertising. His excellent grades earned him another scholarship to Harvard Business School, where he graduated in 1937.

Early Career in Publishing

After finishing college, Dystel started his career in publishing. He worked on promotions at Esquire magazine. Later, he became an editor at Coronet magazine. During his time at Coronet, he helped the magazine's readership grow a lot, from 87,000 to 2 million copies.

In 1942, he left the magazine to serve in the United States Office of War Information. There, he worked on creating special messages and pamphlets to help during the war. For his important work, he received a Medal of Freedom. This award recognized his efforts in creating anti-Nazi pamphlets that were given out in France. These pamphlets were seen as very helpful in weakening the enemy's desire to fight.

After the war, Dystel was hired as a managing editor at Collier's magazine. He also worked as an executive for Gardner Cowles, Jr. on their Quick news weekly. In 1950, he became the editor of Flair magazine.

Leading Bantam Books

Bantam Books was started in 1945. Its goal was to use new printing methods to make inexpensive paperback books. The company was successful at first. However, by the 1950s, the market had too many books, and Bantam's warehouses were full. The company was losing money, with losses over $500,000 in one year.

In 1954, Oscar Dystel was hired to manage Bantam. Even though he was told the company was almost bankrupt, he was confident he could turn it around. He even asked for a share of future profits.

One of Dystel's first big decisions was to buy the paperback rights for Leon Uris' novel Battle Cry. He won against a rival company by promising that real marines would help promote the book. He decided to publish cheap, easy-to-carry versions of classic books as paperbacks. He also aimed to sell these books to schools. Early examples included books by Dostoyevsky and John Steinbeck's East of Eden. He reduced the number of unsold books, hired more sales staff, and created a new company structure. By the end of the next year, Bantam was making a profit.

In 1963, the paperback rights for J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye became available. Dystel learned that Salinger's main wish was to design the new book cover himself. Dystel happily agreed. He famously said, "We’ll publish it in a brown paper wrapping paper if [Salinger] wants that, just as long as the title is legible." The Bantam edition of Catcher in the Rye sold half a million copies every year. By 1978, it had been printed 46 times.

Under Dystel, Bantam became known for quickly producing books. These were called Bantam Extras. For example, when the Warren Commission Report about John F. Kennedy's assassination came out in 1964, Bantam printed the full text in just 80 hours. This book sold 1.6 million copies for Bantam. Other books in this series covered events like Pope Paul VI's trip to the United States in 1965 and the 1969 Moon landing. In total, this special series included 56 titles.

Dystel especially enjoyed finding new books that could sell millions of copies. He liked exciting stories that could also be made into movies. He believed that book covers were extremely important. His cover designs often started new trends, first with red covers, then white, and then with raised letters.

In 1967, Dystel predicted that Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann would sell a million copies. He was wrong – it sold even more! The first printing of 4 million copies sold out in less than a year, and another 4 million were ordered. In 1971, Dystel bought the rights to The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty when no one else would. It went on to sell 10 million copies for the company.

Jaws by Peter Benchley (1974) was already selling well. But when Steven Spielberg's movie version came out in 1975, the book set new sales records. It sold 6 million copies in less than two years. The book cover, designed by Dystel and his team, was even used for the movie poster.

Bertelsmann bought Bantam in 1977. Dystel retired as chairman in 1980. By that time, Bantam was the largest publisher of paperbacks. It held over 15% of the market and made over $100 million in sales each year. During Dystel's time, the company published between 400 and 1000 new titles every year.

Personal Life

Oscar Dystel married Marion Deitler on October 2, 1938. She passed away in 2003. They had two children together. Their son, John, who had multiple sclerosis (MS), also died in 2003. John was a lawyer and had been a competitive figure skater when he was younger. Their daughter, Jane, followed her father into the publishing world. She worked as an editor and publisher before becoming a literary agent. She founded and is the president of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Oscar Dystel passed away at home in Rye, New York, on May 28, 2014, at the age of 101. His daughter Jane said he had been in poor health.