Obits

Former Putnam vp, executive art director Ann Spinelli died on May 9 at 77. Starting in 1981, she worked at Putnam for 30 years, and designed and art directed covers by Tom Clancy, Amy Tan, Kurt Vonnegut and others. “Ann is remembered as a mentor to the designers whose careers she launched and who are top talents in publishing today. Ann was passionate about design, the authors and artists with whom she worked, and the colleagues with whom she collaborated. Her kindness, generosity, and unique sense of humor left an indelible mark on all,” the publisher said in a statement.

Russian-Ukrainian sci-fi and fantasy author Sergey Dyachenko died on May 5 at 77. With his wife, Marina Dyachenko, he was the co-author of more than 30 books, including Vita Nostra, The Scar, and Daughter from the Dark. A sequel to Vita Nostra will be published by Harper Voyager next year.

Senior sales director at HarperCollins Canada Sandra Leef died on April 29 after a brief illness. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, May 4 at the DeStefano Funeral Home, 1289 Keith Ross Drive in Oshawa, Ontario. Visitation will be from 12:00 – 2:30 pm and a funeral service will be held at 2:30 pm.

Ron Pitkin, 79, founder of independent publisher Cumberland House, died on April 6. Todd Stocke, senior vice president and editorial director at Sourcebooks (which acquired Cumberland House in 2008) said, “Ron was sort of a quiet legend with a very big heart in the publishing business. Simultaneously creative and deeply soulful, Ron could position books like few others. He truly had the every-person’s touch. We are proud to carry on his legacy, and we share our best wishes with his family and all those who loved him.” On literary agent Jill Kneerim, who died last week, writer and former Boston […]

Lou Satz, 94, who worked for many years in sales at Bantam Books, died on April 9. The Penguin Random House in-house newsletter notes that his “driving sales leadership for such reprint titles as THE EXORCIST, ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, and JAWS helped position Bantam Books as a twentieth century mass-market paperback publishing powerhouse.”

Louisa Solano, 80, owner of Grolier Poetry Book Shop in Cambridge, MA died of Parkinson’s Disease on April 20.