PUBLISH OR . . .

Kim Novak’s much-heralded autobiography with editor Ellis Amburn--for which the superstar received an advance in the middle six figures--has been dropped by MacMillan Publishing. Said a spokesman for the company: “The project is a dead issue here.” (Amburn took a sabbatical from his job as editorial director at Putnam to work on the book.)

A spokeswoman for Warner Books, which planned the paperback and paid part of the advance, said Warner “might publish both the hardcover and the paperback. Negotiations are still under way.”

Meanwhile, MacMillan also dumped Barbara Eden’s biography. Her manager-publicist, Gene Schwam, said the company wanted his client to submit a more salacious and sensationalized story than she cared to and “we couldn’t live with that request.”