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Anxiety at Random House

In May, Random House is scheduled to publish "Queer in America: Sex, the Media and the Closets of Power," by Michelangelo Signorile, a gay journalist who is a proponent of "outing," or publicly identifying homosexuals and lesbians, particularly public figures, who have concealed their sexual orientation.

In the publisher's catalogue, the book is described as "polemical" and "intemperate." Apparently the book is a bit too much so for some people at Random House, who expressed feelings ranging from discomfort to dismay at the company's decision to publish the book.

Some of those who objected to it said the book was too much a militant gay polemic and were uncomfortable with having to promote or support it. Others, even some gay people at Random House, objected to Mr. Signorile's general style and tactics and said they thought the publisher should not have signed up his book.

All of them will have a chance to confront Mr. Signorile with their complaints and hesitations on Friday, when Random House holds an unusual rap session with the author for people who work there. In-House Battles First

"He's a very controversial figure, and there were bound to be some people in-house who objected to him and to the book," said Harold Evans, the president and publisher of the Random House adult trade division. "We thought we should face up to the internal anxiety before the book is published. Look, a publishing house is not a nunnery and should be part of the flow of public debate. We hope that colleagues who have doubts about the book will come and air them and let the author address them."

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The forum was the idea of Peter Vertes, the publicity manager for Random House, who said he had heard the dissent among the editorial and the sales staffs. "Signorile is known primarily for outing, but this is not a book about outing," Mr. Vertes said. "There are a lot of preconceptions and misconceptions about him and the book, and I thought it would be good to set the record straight inside before we have to fight the same battles outside."

Mr. Signorile said he knew that he and the book would be a lightning rod and that he wasn't surprised by the discord. He said that the publishing industry had generally been a sympathetic haven for gay men and lesbians compared with other industries but that, "even so, sometimes preconceived notions get in the way and need to be addressed."

The point of speaking "is not to make people get behind the book and agree with me," he said. "The point is to inform them of what and who it is they are promoting and selling." Fiction in Advertising

British audiences seem to have a peculiar attachment to television commercials, becoming so attached to certain characters that they will them to life, or the nearest equivalent, literary life.

A few years ago, a commercial for the Yellow Pages ran on British television. In it, an elderly country gentleman is shown calling bookstores, trying, seemingly hopelessly, to track down a copy of a rare book called "Fly Fishing," by one J. R. Hartley. Finally, going down the list in the Yellow Pages, he succeeds.

"Will you hold for me if I come right over?" the desperate customer asks the storekeeper over the phone.

"Certainly, sir," he is told. "Your name?"

"J. R. Hartley."

The book and the author were fictitious, creations of advertising. But bookstores and rare-book dealers were bombarded with requests for it. One industrious publisher, Stanley Paul, decided to capitalize on the interest and give the public what it apparently wanted: J. R. Hartley's "Fly Fishing."

He hired a writer to be J. R. Hartley and a fishing expert to make the text authentic. Together, they invented the life, memoirs and fishing tips of an 85-year-old Oxford graduate who becomes an acclaimed fisherman.

The book was published in 1991 and quickly became a best seller. Now, HarperCollins is bringing it out in the United States. The American publisher is betting that the book, here subtitled "Memories of Angling Days," will charm even those who never witnessed J. R. Hartley's passionate television search for his out-of-print book. Enter the Coffee Couple

Now, once again, a British publisher has turned characters from a television ad campaign into literary heroes. Corgi Books has printed 150,000 copies of "Love Over Gold," a novel based on a popular commercial for Nescafe Gold Blend instant coffee.

American audiences would recognize the couple from commercials for Taster's Choice (both products are made by Nestle), although British audiences have been following the soap opera of their romance for two years longer. Both campaigns were created by McCann-Erickson, which has offices in London and New York and owns the rights to the characters.

The cover of the British book touts it as "The untold story of TV's greatest romance," but American fans should not hope to see it published here soon. "There are no plans to publish the book here or to bring over the British version," said Susan Irwin, a spokeswoman for McCann-Erickson.

She said the story lines of the two campaigns were the same for the first two installments but are now completely different. She also noted that British audiences have seen 10 episodes, while Americans are only up to No. 5.

"It's possible at some point we might do a U.S. book," Ms. Irwin said. "There certainly has been a lot of interest." Another Round of Golf

America's own real-life golf version of J. R. Hartley has been signed up by Simon & Schuster to write another volume of advice, aphorisms and reminiscences of his decades on the links.

Harvey Penick, the 87-year-old Texas pro from the Austin Country Club, whose "Little Red Book," written with Bud Shrake, has been on The New York Times best-seller list for an astonishing 31 weeks, has agreed to write a sequel, to be called "And If You Play Golf You're My Friend," to be published in spring 1994.

With about 450,000 copies in print, his first book is now the best-selling hard-cover sports book of all time, surpassing John Feinstein's "Season on the Brink" (Macmillan, 1987), George Will's "Men at Work" (Macmillan, 1990) and "Bo Knows Bo" (Doubleday, 1991) by Bo Jackson and Dick Schaap.

For his first book, Mr. Penick was paid an advance of $90,000. This time, he was closing in on seven figures, which is not bad for a man who doubted that anyone would possibly want to buy a book of Harvey Penick's personal thoughts and tips.

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