Uncollecting Cheever

Ten years ago, publishers, authors, scholars, and the reading public watched anxiously the results of two lawsuits involving the family of John Cheever, famed short story writer, and Academy Chicago Publishers, a small publishing house. At stake was not only a collection of Cheever's lesser-known short stories, valued for their literary merit and historical value, but also the definition of intellectual property. In a dramatic re-telling, Anita Miller draws us into the case, creating vivid portraits of the participants and the tensions between them while also shedding light on key issues of our time.

Anita Miller, Ph.D., is president and editorial director of Academy Chicago Publishers, which she and her husband founded in 1975. She resides in Chicago, Illinois.

Chapter 1 Prelude: "This Is Really Easy"
Chapter 2 "A Splendid Idea"
Chapter 3 "I Suppose You Could Say They Haven't Been Delivered"
Chapter 4 "A Perfect Agent for the Eighties"
Chapter 5 "John's Poor Little Stories"
Chapter 6 "Serious Inequities in the Contract"
Chapter 7 "They're My Only Children"
Chapter 8 "Cheever Clout"
Chapter 9 "Franklin Thinks Maybe the Cheevers Won't Like It"
Chapter 10 "The Cheevers' Concern about Premature Publicity"
Chapter 11 "It's a Matter of Honor"
Chapter 12 "The Work Is of Grossly Substandard Quality"
Chapter 13 Hearing in White Plains: "They Are Not the Stories of John Cheever"
Chapter 14 "It Competes Directly with the Published Literature of John Cheever"
Chapter 15 "I Want You to Publish This Book"
Chapter 16 The Royce Hotel: "You Won't Sell as Many Books as Random House"
Chapter 17 "As If This Were Dirty Laundry . . . Gossip"
Chapter 18 Mary Cheever's Deposition: "I Would Like This Creep to Finish"
Chapter 19 Franklin Dennis's Deposition: "I'm Going to Ask the Witness Not to Speak with His Attorney"
Chapter 20 Susan Cheever's Deposition: "They Are Essentially Package Engineers Rather Than Publishers"
Chapter 21 Ben Cheever's Deposition: "I Don't Know a Lot about What Is in This Xerox"
Chapter 22 Andrew Wylie's Deposition: "What Was the Man's Name?"
Chapter 23 Evidentiary Hearing, White Plains, Day 1, A.M.: "Is That the One They Made into a Movie?"
Chapter 24 Evidentiary Hearing, White Plains, Day 1, P.M.: "Which President Were You Speaking Of?"
Chapter 25 Evidentiary Hearing, Day 2, A.M.: "Who Is the Beggar?"
Chapter 26 Evidentiary Hearing, Day 2, P.M.: "Do You Contend That She Knew What She Was Doing When She Did That?"
Chapter 27 Interlude Between Courtrooms: "The Second Thing They Do, Is They Come Before You in a Judge Bash"
Chapter 28 Goettel's Opinion: "All Plaintiffs Will Prevail"
Chapter 29 "It Looks Like It's Going to Be Relatively Easy"
Chapter 30 "You Don't See a Moral Issue Here?"
Chapter 31 Chicago Trial, Days 1 and 2: "They Could Be Bad, They Could Be Good, That Is Not the Issue"
Chapter 32 Chicago Trial, Day 3: "Welcome to Our Fair City"
Chapter 33 Judge Kiley's Decision: "Most of the Dispute Has Been Decided"
Chapter 34 "A Literary Gold Mine"
Chapter 35 "John Was the King of Hades"
Chapter 36 "Paul Is Named Jack and Mani is Amy"
Chapter 37 "It Becomes Like a Garbage Can of Stories"
Chapter 38 "Enforcing a Contract for Mary Cheever"
Chapter 39 "Mrs. Cheever Loves Those Stories"
Chapter 40 "Small Press, Small Book"
Chapter 41 "It's Still a Very Good Idea, in the Abstract"
Chapter 42 "It's Like Getting a Cancer off Your Back"
Chapter 43 A Hellabaloo
Chapter 44 "Father Sells Best"
Chapter 45 "I Think There Is a Moral Issue"
Chapter 46 "A Fascinating Example of One Writer's Beginning"