In the wake of Judith Regan’s firing from HarperCollins last month, another Regan supporter has emerged in reporter and author Steve Ketterman, writing in SF Gate. Ketterman was the ghostwriter of one Regan title, Jose Canseco’s steroids expose Juiced – which, as he notes, “helped push a House committee to hold nationally televised hearings” on the steroids issue. Still, most of Ketterman’s arguments seem to be of the faint-praise variety: that Regan knew what Middle America wanted and had a gift for shocking and provoking. “I think publishing learned from her that you have to appeal to the masses,” Ketterman quotes a former Regan Books editor. “Enough of being too high-brow.”

Quillblog’s favourite bit in the piece, though, is this:

“I think Judith’s reputation as a trash publisher has been overstated, and her eye for book packaging, design and branding has been understated,” said Neil Strauss, L.A.-based author of books including [drumroll please … wait for it …] The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists.

Related links:
Click here for the SF Gate story