• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, October 27, 2006

Tuesday afternoon, when Carat CEO David Verklin took a meeting with the co-author of a new consumer-oriented book about media he has secretly been writing, the project took a dramatic and, sadly, a fatal turn. During the meeting, one of the last before the new book was intended to go to press, Verklin's co-author, Bernice Kanner, one of Madison Avenue's best known authors and journalists, suffered an aneurism high up in the executive suite of Carat's Park Avenue offices and died.

A Carat spokesperson said Verklin, who was a close friend of Kanner's, was stunned by the experience, and it is unclear exactly when the book will be completed and will be published.

"We are looking at the spring for the launch," Adrienne Scordato told MediaDailyNews, adding, "But I don't know how this news will effect what will take place next."

Ordinarily, news that Verklin, one of Madison Avenue's highest profile media figures, was working on a book about the business, would create a buzz in the industry. Verklin is known as an articulate visionary on the rapid evolution of media, and the new book was expected to provide a new public platform for him.

The timing of the incident, comes amid a whirlwind of activity for Verklin, including Carat's anticipated win of Wal-Mart's massive retail advertising account, as well as the incessant takeover battle swirling around Carat parent London-based Aegis Group.

The book, which has the working title, "Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here," was not intended for industry insiders as much as it was for Joe Public.

"It's not a technical book," said Scordato. "It's written for the general consumer. It explains what's been going on in the business these past few years."

Scordato said most, if not all of the writing, has been completed on the book, and that Kanner's death should not impact its completion.

Kanner, the author of several highly regarded books about the advertising business, including "The 100 Best TV Commercials and Why They Worked," has written about advertising and media for many of the nation's top consumer and trade publications, including New York magazine and Advertising Age. For the past several years, she has been editor in chief of WomensBiz.US.

News of her death was first reported Thursday on AdAge.com.