David Letterman's fall book crosses over

Among the more predictable TV show tie-in books appearing in the Disney-owned Hyperion Fall 2008 catalog (i.e. Grey’s Anatomy: Healing with Love) was a surprising addition: Late Show Fun Facts by David Letterman, whose late-night talk show airs on Disney-ABC’s rival network, CBS. Though Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants — and not the network — officially owns Late Show, the comedian has had a long-standing relationship with CBS, making it odd that he didn’t opt to publish the book with an imprint CBS-owned Simon & Schuster. When asked why Letterman chose Hyperion instead, Rob Burnett, the president and CEO of
Worldwide Pants, issued the following statement: “Hyperion has shown
incredible enthusiasm for this book, and we’re looking forward to
working with them on this project.”

Hyperion’s Leslie Wells, who edited Late Show Fun Facts, says she’s unsure whether the book was shopped to other houses, but that she already has experience working with Letterman, having edited his first two Top Ten books while working at Pocket, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. A spokesperson for Simon & Schuster declined comment.