Poet, activist, and children’s author Nikki Giovanni, 81, died on December 9 in Blacksburg, VA. Giovanni’s first two books, Black Feeling Black Talk and Black Judgment, were self-published in 1968, and she went on to author more than 30 books. She served as a professor at Virginia Tech and was the recipient of seven N.A.A.C.P. awards and 31 honorary doctorates.
Obits
Obituaries: Barbara Taylor Bradford, and NYT on Mike Shatzkin
Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford, 91, died at home on November 24 following a short illness. In 1979 she published A Woman of Substance, which remained on the New York Times bestsellers list for 43 weeks. According to a release, she wrote a total of 40 novels, which have sold more than 91 million copies around the world. Jennifer Enderlin, president and publisher of St. Martin’s Press, which published Bradford’s novels in the US, said: “[Bradford] was a legend in so many ways, but chief among them was her utmost professionalism and dedication to her craft. She never missed a deadline and […]
Obituary: Arthur Frommer
Travel guide writer and publisher Arthur Frommer, 95, died on November 18 from complications from pneumonia. After going to law school and serving in the US Army, he wrote Europe on $5 A Day and founded Frommer’s to publish guidebooks in 1957. Frommer’s daughter Pauline Frommer is currently the co-president of Frommer Media and editorial director of Frommer’s Guidebooks. “Throughout his remarkable life, Arthur Frommer democratized travel, showing average Americans how anyone can afford to travel widely and better understand the world,” she wrote in a statement. “I am honored to carry on his work of sharing the world with […]
Obituary: Elizabeth Nunez
Trinidad-born writer Elizabeth Nunez, 80, died on November 8 at her home in Brooklyn. Nunez was the author of Prospero’s Daughter and several other novels including When Rocks Dance, Beyond the Limbo Silence, and more. She served as distinguished professor of English at Hunter College beginning in 2010 until retiring this spring.
Obituaries: Dorothy Allison, Bruce Degen
Feminist writer Dorothy Allison, 75, died of cancer on November 5 at her home in Guerneville, CA. Allison was the author of acclaimed 1992 novel Bastard Out of Carolina, as well as other works including the novel Cavedweller and the short story collection Trash. Bruce Degen, 79, illustrator of The Magic School Bus series of children’s books, died of pancreatic cancer on November 7 at his home in Newtown, CT. Degen worked with author Joanna Cole on the 14-book series. Degen’s other work included illustrating the book Jamberry.
Mike Shatzkin, RIP
The beautiful, brilliant, boisterous, kind, generous, optimistic, unconventional and wholly original Mike Shatkzin, 77, died on the morning of November 7 at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, following the recent onset of a rare cancer. In his final days, Mike was lifted by an outpouring of love and appreciation, as his ICU room overflowed with visitors from near and far and his email and texts flooded with messages. Even as his body struggled, Mike’s resting face in his hospital bed was often a smile. Mike was indelible. If you were fortunate enough to spend time with him, his voice […]