Random House Refuses TFP Permission to Quote The Da Vinci Code
When the American TFP petitioned Random House, Inc. for permission to quote The Da Vinci Code in its upcoming book, it expected the response to be entirely pro forma. After all, academic discussion and free exchange of ideas should be esteemed by the publishing community. Moreover, Carl E. Olson and Sandra Miesel had already secured such permission when publishing The Da Vinci Hoax in 2004.
Nevertheless, Random House refused such permission, without explanation, in a letter dated August 22. The complete text of the letter follows:
Dear Mr. Drake,
In regards to your attached permissions request, we regret to inform you that permission has been denied. We thank you for your interest and wish you success with your project.
Sincerely,
Carol Christiansen
Permissions Manager
Perhaps, Random House is feeling the heat as the debate over this controversial book sizzles up with the scheduled 2006 release of “The Da Vinci Code” movie… we can only hope so.