Obits

Russell Banks, 82, died of cancer on January 8 at his home in Saratoga Springs, NY. Banks was the author of 21 books, including Continental Drift (1985) and Cloudsplitter (1998), which were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize.

British novelist Fay Weldon died on January 4 at age 91. Weldon was the author of the memoir Auto Da Fay and 30 novels, including The Life and Loves Of a She-Devil and Praxis, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. She was also a playwright and screenwriter.

Book critic and editor Patricia Holt, 78, died on December 3 after a battle with cancer. Holt was the book review editor at the San Francisco Chronicle for nearly 17 years, beginning in 1982, and previously worked at Houghton Mifflin and Publishers Weekly. She served on the board of the National Book Critics Circle and as its vice-president, and on the board of The Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. She was also the author of The Bug in the Martini Olive. Philip Kogan, founder of UK business book publisher Kogan Page, died on December 24 at age 92. […]

Longtime Tattered Cover owner Joyce Meskis, 80, died at home on December 22. Meskis purchased the small namesake bookstore in 1974 and grew it into a renowned group of stores, and sold the company in 2015. Longtime employee Cathy Langer said, “Her legacy is changing the way people think about bookstores and their role in society.” As the store notes, “Joyce was a literary lioness that evolved our industry in a way that few others had done before her.”

Literary agent Linda Chester died at home in La Jolla, CA on December 9. She was founder and president of the Linda Chester Literary Agency, which she established in 1989. The agency writes: “She had the utmost respect and admiration for writers and their ability to move us, persuade us, to rejoice in the human condition, and also to caution us when the culture strays from its highest values.” They also note: “Well known for her ethics, passion, kindness, and generosity, Linda was well loved by her clients and admired for her big-picture vision and singular sense of style.” The agency […]

Lucia Bernard, 29, senior designer in the Penguin Black interior design department, died on November 18. She had been with the company for six years. The publisher writes, “In her more than six years with the company Lucia touched not only her teammates in Design, Production, Art, and Editorial but also the many grateful authors whose books were elevated by her gifted vision.  She was driven to excellence in all she pursued.” Information about a memorial is TBA.