Author and academic Umberto Eco, 84, died February 19 at his home in Milan. Eco was the author of many works of nonfiction and novels, including The Name of the Rose (1983), Foucault’s Pendulum (1988) and most recently Numero Zero, published last November by longtime US publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, who said in a statement: “Umberto Eco was one of the great novelists and scholars of our time. Yet even more than for his timeless works, we will remember him for his exuberance, his vitality, his intense loyalties, and his wonderful company.”
Author and National Book Award finalist Rosario Ferré, 77, died February 18 at her home in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Jeff Golick has joined Dover Publications as acquisitions editor, responsible for children’s books. Most recently he was publishing director at Dreamscape Media.