Jonathan Burnham dancing with Jane Friedman. Last March, Burnham was named one of New York Magazine's "50 Sexiest New Yorkers" for being "the perfect combination of dirty-blond hair, brains, brawn, and (too) tight pants."

As shock waves diminished from yesterday’s surprise announcement that HarperCollins was closing its Collins division, dismissing several prominent executives, consolidating imprints, closing the not-yet-officially-started Bowen Press (as GalleyCat reports), and promising still more layoffs to come, speculation and finger-pointing about what led to the decision began to circulate furiously.

“The causes were multiple: neglect, mixed messages, gluttony, and an epidemic of stagnation that has decimated American book publishing,” says a New York magazine report. It was former Harper head Jane Friedman‘s fault, implies a Crain’s New York report, that says when she pumped a lot of money into the division in 2007 and hired Steve Ross to “make the house a more aggressive player in the non-fiction arena … Publishing insiders wondered at the time … whether there wouldn’t be overlap—and competition—in the area of general nonfiction books between Collins and the Harper flagship imprint.”

Well yeah, there was a lot of friction between editors at the two divisions, says a New York Times report, but a New York Observer report says many feel the real culprit is Jonathan Burnham, “whose record as publisher of HarperCollins’ flagship imprint has been marked by a number of expensive acquisitions that did not meet expectations. Several publishing executives who spoke on background yesterday wondered aloud why Mr. Burnham—who declined to comment—was staying on at the company while certain others, like William Morrow publisher Lisa Gallagher, had been asked to leave.” Indeed, Burnham seems to have been the winner yesterday, with his domain significantly increased, and his responsibilities now inclusive of those of Ross and others … although given the way tongues are wagging about the now-shattered company, and the fact that CEO Brian Murray has prommised still more layoffs to come, that doesn’t look like an admirable position to be in right now.