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Show Paul Dunn '$ Father's r Day book cancelled Bv MARK EDDINGTON Staff Writer BOUNTIFUL A scheduled Saturday appearance by Paul H. Dunn at an LDS book store in Bountiful was cancelled after his publisher, Bookcraft, decided to cancel the printing of his latest book. Dunn, a Mormon general authority on emeritus status, was supposed to appear at Seagull's Book and Tape Store at 273 W. 500 South in Bountiful to promote pro-mote his latest work, a Father.; Day pamphlet entitled "A Man Called Dad." But Seagull's owner Loren Richards said the autograph party was cancelled when Bookcraft informed inform-ed him the pamphlet would not be printed for Father's Day because of the controversy surrounding Dunn. The controversy broke last February when newspapers across the country carried Dunn's admission admis-sion that many of the inspirational stories in his books and tapes were a combination of fiction and fact. Bookcraft President Russell B. Orton denies the cancellation had anything to do with adverse publicity over Dunn's admissions. "It was scheduled for Father's Day but it wasn't ready, which is a very common occurrence in the publishing business. Books often don't make deadlines," Orton said. Asked whether Bookcraft would still publish the booklet, Orton said that wasn't anyone's business but his own, but later said he had plans to print the pamphlet pam-phlet for Father's Day next year. "It's a Father's Day booklet, so it wouldn't be published pub-lished until next Father's Day," he reiterated. "It's delayed because it wasn't ready." Officials at the church-owned bookstores could not verify Orion's contention the booklet was unfinished, but said they had received quite a bit of pre-publication publicity. Roger Toone, vice president of retail sales at Deseret' Book, said they had placed an initial order for the pamphlet, pam-phlet, but later contacted Bookcraft and cancelled the orders after the Dunn story appeared in papers and sales of his books declined. "We expressed our concern to Bookcraft. We weren't really sure how many of our customers would really be interested. And I think they reconsidered and determined not to bring it (the pamphlet) out," he said. Sales of Dunn's books and tapes have fallen off dramatically dra-matically over the past few months, and Toone said the majority of Dunn's books and tapes have been returned or are now being returned to Bookcraft. One exception is the book, "The Birth That We Call Death," which has continued to sell well despite the controversy. The decision by Deseret Book to cancel orders for "A Man Called Dad" and to discontinue the sale of many of his other works has reportedly rankled Bookcraft, according to several sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We've tried to be as fair as we could and treat his material just like we would any other product. When we have books from other publishers, other authors, that do not sell, we return them to the publisher. That's what we are doing with the majority of Dunn's material because frankly people just aren't buying them," Toone said. Deseret Book officials maintain the return of Dunn's books and tapes is strictly a business decision and has nothing to do with the content or controversy surrounding surroun-ding his books. |
