Newmarket's Kinsey More Than a Movie Tie-In

Newmarket Press is packing some hot material in a brown paper bag. Well, at least it's designed to look like a brown paper bag. It's actually the cover of the trade paperback Kinsey: Public and Private, the official tie-in to the film Kinsey, which explores the life of famed sex researcher Alfred Kinsey. The book and the film, directed by Bill Condon and starring Liam Neeson as the insect scientist (gall wasps were his thing) turned sexual revolution igniter (thanks to his Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, aka "The Kinsey Report") and Laura Linney as his wife, are both slated for release on November 12.

Though the 352-page book is technically a movie tie-in, its dynamic presentation makes it so much more. "It's not only geared for the film section, but the history and biography sections as well," said Newmarket president and publisher Esther Margolis. "Our goal is to have the book treated like -- and forgive the expression -- 'a real book.'" (One of the problems Newmarket faces is that booksellers sometimes have a jaded view of so-called movie tie-ins because those titles are often novelizations or source books, Margolis noted.) And, concerning that daring cover design, she added: "Our designer came up with a great concept! [Around the time, and especially before, Kinsey did his sexual research,] anything published that had sexual content had to be wrapped in a brown paper bag."

Part one of the book, "Kinsey: His Life and Legacy," features a trenchant 10,000-word history of the scientist by author and journalist Linda Wolfe that is illustrated by historical photos, documents, and other archival images and bolstered by comments from current professors of psychiatry and sociology as well experts on the sexual research. Following that is a section entitled "The Reaction" that offers book extracts and magazine and newspaper articles from 1948 to the present from publications including The New Yorker, Esquire, Time, Life, and Look. Included are write-ups from David Halberstam (from his book The Fifties), Dr. Billy Graham, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Westheimer's essay came to fruition after Margolis met up with the famous sex therapist at Book Expo America 2004 in Chicago.

At its booth, Newmarket was displaying a large poster for the Kinsey book project along with a trailer of the film. "Ruth walked by, so we chatted," Margolis recalled. "I said, 'Ruth, you have to see this, it is right up your alley!' and I showed her the trailer right then and there. She loved it. I said, 'We're putting a book together and I would love it if you could contribute something to it.' She immediately said, 'Yes! When do you need it?'" Westheimer also explained to Margolis that she talks about Kinsey at the beginning of her lectures. Reproductions of actual Kinsey interviews round out the first part of the book.

Part two, "Kinsey: The Movie," offers up an in-depth Q&A with Condon by Rob Feld that sheds light on the research and the methods used by the director to tell Kinsey's story. It also includes the movie's full screenplay in script format, an exclusive 32-page section of 43 movie stills, complete cast and crew credits, acknowledgements, and a "further reading" list.

Margolis said that Newmarket also wanted to enlist Gloria Steinem -- another individual who "loved the movie" -- to contribute to the book, but the women's rights activist declined because she was "heavily engaged in the Kerry campaign." She hosted a screening of the film and also lectured at a 50th anniversary event for Kinsey's Female volume," Margolis reported.

To create its movie tie-in books, Newmarket sets up teams of editors and others to tackle various projects. For Kinsey, Condon was actually the co-editor along with Newmarket executive editor Keith Hollaman. Margolis also worked directly on the project.

From the time Condon -- who won an Oscar for Best Screenplay Adaptation for his 1998 film Gods and Monsters -- began working on his Kinsey film several years ago, he knew he wanted a book project to coincide with it. And he sent Newmarket the film's script even before he began shooting. "So we were involved very early, which was very helpful to the project," Margolis revealed.

One thing Newmarket has going for it is the dearth of books on Alfred Kinsey. Besides two extensive biographies, there isn't much out there, according to the publisher. "I'm hoping the book will appeal to people who see the film and who have a curiosity about the man and the period being covered because there isn't much available in bookstores. I'm hoping this book will fill the void." --Jeff Perlah