Obits

Editor and literary agent Will Murphy, 57, died of a heart attack at home in New York on February 1. As an editor at Random House, Murphy published Salman Rushdie, President Joe Biden, former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Reza Aslan, Edmund Morris, and Pope Francis. Most recently Murphy was an agent at Folio. A funeral will be held on Wednesday, February 11 at 3:00 pm at The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (Park Avenue and 84th Street) followed by a reception from 4:00-6:00 pm. All are welcome. The service will also be live streamed at: https://www.youtube.com/live/wy6YaCgbrlE

Former editor Toni Burbank, 85, died on January 9. She started in publishing at Columbia University Press and then moved to Bantam Books. Burbank worked at Bantam for more than 40 years, becoming a vice president and executive editor. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Bantam editor, Toni Burbank,” the team at Bantam said. “Toni was a legend who championed books that inspired readers to better understand themselves and the world around them. Her editorial vision, care for authors, and commitment to meaningful storytelling left a lasting mark on our company and her contributions remain an important […]

Literary agent Georges Borchardt, 97, died peacefully at home on January 18. He started his eponymous agency more than 60 years ago to represent French authors for the American market, and it grew to a full service agency representing fiction and nonfiction clients. “To those who worked with him, Georges was more than a legendary agent. He was a mentor, a fierce advocate, and a man of profound integrity and wit. His curiosity never faded, nor did his conviction that serious books matter. The standards he set—for excellence, independence, and loyalty—remain the foundation of our work,” the agency said in […]

Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comics and books, died on January 13 at 68. Last year, he announced that he had metastatic prostate cancer. He published several Dilbert collections and satirical business books. In 2023, following racist comments he made online, Adams’ agent Daniel Greenberg and publishers Andrews McMeel and Portfolio ended their relationships with him.

Norman Podhoretz, 95, the longtime editor of Commentary, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. He was the author of more than a dozen books, including the memoir Making It.

Joanna Trollope, 82, author of more than 30 novels, died on December 11. She began publishing books in the 1980s under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey. Her best known works included The Rector’s Wife, A Village Affair, Next of Kin, and Other People’s Children. “It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Joanna Trollope, one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists,” said her agent, James Gill. “Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and – of course – her readers.”