A Brooklyn literary agent who “single-handedly” brought a best-selling Japanese home-organizing book to the US hasn’t been paid, according to a lawsuit.
Marie Kondo’s smash hit “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” was already a success in her home country when Neil Gudovitz began working with her publisher to bring the book to the United States and Great Britain.
Gudovitz, who handled foreign projects for California-based literary agency Waterside Productions, got Kondo a deal with Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, and the book took off in 2015, selling 2.5 million American copies, getting translated into 40 languages and landing Kondo on Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” list.
But Waterside allegedly failed to pay Gudovitz “a single cent” of the $225,000 he said he was promised from the book’s success, according to a Brooklyn Supreme Court lawsuit he filed against the company.
Waterside fired Gudovitz after Kondo stuck with Ten Speed Press for her sequels, rejecting a lucrative deal from Simon & Schuster in the process, claims Gudovitz, who wants an additional $900,000 in damages.
In a counterclaim, Waterside denied Gudovitz’ allegations and says he didn’t seek more money until the book became a runaway hit in the US.
“There never was an agreement … for Gudovitz to receive a percentage share of the agency fee on the book,” Waterside charges in its Brooklyn Federal Court accusations against Gudovitz.
The company, which is seeking $1 million in damages from the Brooklyn man, blamed Gudovitz for working on a deal for the Kondo sequels that left Simon & Schuster in the cold.
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