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By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg 

If controversy is good for book sales, publisher Henry Holt & Co. is poised for a hot start to 2018.

Its new book about President Donald Trump and his administration, "Fire and Fury" by author Michael Wolff, rocketed to No. 1 on the bestseller lists at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com ahead of its Jan. 9 publication date, after excerpts surfaced in news reports this week. Other book retailers are reporting surging interest in the title.

The White House's swift and intense backlash to the book, which features criticism of the president and his children, has created a sensitive situation for Henry Holt, an imprint of Macmillan, but also could fuel more interest in the book, retailers say. Several book retailers, including Barnes & Noble Inc., said they have received permission from the publisher to sell the book starting Friday. Holt didn't respond to a request to comment on the new publication date.

In a letter Thursday, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, Charles Harder, called for Henry Holt to "cease and desist" from publishing the book or any articles or excerpts related to it, saying the book contained "false and/or baseless statements."

Henry Holt has issued no comment in response, beyond acknowledging in a statement that it received the letter. A person familiar with the publishing house's thinking said it stands by the book. The company has sped up the rollout of media promotion of the book to capitalize on surging interest, the person said. Henry Holt hasn't disclosed how many copies it is printing.

Mr. Wolff, a journalist and columnist known for his writing on media and entertainment, referred a request for comment to his publisher. Andrew Wylie, Mr. Wolff's agent, declined to comment.

Henry Holt is the latest media outlet to experience an attack by the president. Mr. Trump has on many occasions slammed news outlets, especially CNN and the New York Times, over coverage he dislikes -- using his Twitter account to accuse them of peddling fake news. Many media outlets, from newspapers to TV news channels, have enjoyed audience gains since Mr. Trump came onto the scene in the 2016 election, as readers and viewers are drawn to controversies surrounding the president.

"Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" is an account of the first months of the Trump administration. Steve Bannon. Mr. Trump's former chief strategist, is quoted criticizing the president's children.

Booksellers say the White House's harsh response has helped focus attention on the book at a time when political themed titles are performing well. Most recently, top sellers included "Let Trump Be Trump" by former Trump campaign manager Corey R. Lewandowski and David N. Bossie, and "Obama: An Intimate Portrait," by former White House photographer Pete Souza.

"We saw a huge spike in demand yesterday," said Terry Finley, chief executive of closely held Books-A-Million Inc., the country's second largest bookstore chain. The demand largely came in the form of preorders on the retailer's website.

Mr. Finley declined to disclose the number of orders, as did Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com Inc.

"President Trump's attack absolutely stirred interest," Mr. Finley said.

On Thursday morning shoppers were coming into Politics & Prose, which operates two stores in Washington, D.C., and asking if the book was on sale, said co-owner Bradley Graham. Others called the store to inquire.

"Fortunately our initial order [from the publisher] was substantial," said Mr. Graham. "These political books land sometimes with huge news impact, like a Bob Woodward book, and that's what we're seeing here."

Sallye Leventhal, a buyer for Barnes & Noble, said leaked excerpts of the book have stoked interest. "And I have to say every move from the White House since then has been a publicity dream. It has forced it to the front page. It could be one of the books of the year," she said.

Henry Holt, which also publishes a successful series of history books written by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, didn't offer an early copy to the White House, the person familiar with the matter said.

Macmillan, which is a unit of Germany's closely held Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, also owns such imprints as Flatiron Books.

Flatiron last year acquired an upcoming book from James Comey, the former FBI director fired by Mr. Trump. The book, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership," is listed on Macmillan's website with a May 1 publication date.

Mr. Comey will share "his never-before-told experiences form some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it drives sound decisions," according to the website.

--Sarah Rabil contributed to this article

Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at jeffrey.trachtenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 04, 2018 15:25 ET (20:25 GMT)

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