Obits

Gary Fisketjon, 72, longtime editor at Knopf and most recently County Highway, died over the weekend in his home in Salem, Oregon. Fisketjon joined Knopf in the early 1990s and left in 2019 after a controversy involving “a breach of company policy.” Before joining Knopf, Fisketjon was the creator of Vintage Contemporaries. County Highway announced the news online on Sunday, writing, “Gary Fisketjon is dead, and we invite you to mourn with us. He was the greatest editor of American fiction of the past half-century, his fierce editorial eye, remarkable ear and unshakable commitment to the calibration of his own […]

Tom Thompson, vice president of creative advertising at St. Martin’s Publishing Group, died on Sunday, November 1. Thompson worked at Macmillan for 9 years, leading the 16-person SMPG Creative Studio team and guiding its transition into a full-service, in-house advertising agency. The publisher writes, “He was also a published poet, remembered warmly by colleagues and collaborators for his visionary eye, gentle spirit, and generous mentorship. He leaves behind a lasting creative impact on the publishing industry, and will be deeply missed by all of us at Macmillan who had the privilege of working alongside him.”

Chantelle Aimée Osman, senior editor at Simon Maverick, has died. Osman joined the publisher last year following roles at Amazon Publishing. She was also the founding editor of Agora Books, an imprint of Polis Books, as well as the coauthor The Awakened, The Rejects, and The Quick and Dirty Guides to… Chris Lynch, president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Audio, writes, “She spent years dedicated to using her voice and her work to amplify authors and stories outside of the mainstream, and always championed works from underrepresented writers. She was a valued member of our US Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, and outside […]

Agent Edite Kroll, 87, died at home in Maine on September 23 after a long illness. Born in 1939 in Germany, she started in publishing in London at Chatto & Windus. She moved to New York in 1965, working at Harper & Row with Charlotte Zolotow. She later opened up her own eponymous literary agency and represented clients including Shel Silverstein and Sandra Boynton. In 2018, Kroll transferred most of her clients and contacts to Victoria Wells at HG Literary, but continued agenting work until the week before her death. “She was the dearest mentor, friend, and source of inspiration […]

Author Annie Dillard, 81, died on September 15, the New York Times reports. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek in 1975 and received a National Humanities Medal in 2014. Walker picture book publisher and associate director Deirdre McDermott has died. McDermott started at Walker in 1989 as a junior paperback designer and became picture book publisher and associate director in 2002, publishing creators including Oliver Jeffers, Jessica Love, and Chris Haughton. A funeral will take place in London on September 23 at 2 PM at West Chapel in Golders Green (62 Hoop Lane).