HarperCollins drops Chris Cuomo’s book ‘Deep Denial’ after CNN firing

HarperCollins is scrapping plans to publish a book by former CNN host Chris Cuomo about the Trump years and COVID-19 pandemic. “Custom House does not intend to publish the Chris Cuomo book,” a spokesperson for the HarperCollins imprint, William Morrow, said Tuesday in a statement to The Times. The 51-year-old cable anchor’s book, “Deep Denial,” was initially set for release under HarperCollins’ Custom House banner, which publishes “thought-provoking nonfiction and distinguished literary fiction.” Its publication date was pushed from January to October earlier this year, then again to fall 2022, according to Publishers Marketplace, which also reported on the title going missing from Amazon. “Deep Denial” was billed as “a provocative analysis of the harsh truths that the pandemic and Trump years have exposed about America — about our strength and our character — and a roadmap of the work needed to make our ideals match reality.” Just as Andrew Cuomo’s resignation ended up engulfing his brother’s career, the debacle of the governor’s own COVID-19 book might have served HarperCollins with a cautionary tale. Andrew’s memoir, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic,” acquired by the Penguin Random House imprint Crown for a reported $5 million, dragged the publisher into the politician’s spectacular fall from grace.