Obits

British thriller writer Jack Higgins, 92, who published 85 books, died on April at his home in Jersey, one of the British Channel Islands. Published in 1975, his best known book The Eagle Has Landed was an international bestseller.

Soho Press co-founder Alan J. Hruska, 88, died of lymphoma on March 29 at home in Manhattan. He founded Soho in 1986 along with his wife, Laura Chapman Hruska, and Juris Jurjevics. A litigator at Cravath Swaine & Moore for 44 years, he was also the author of multiple novels, starting with Borrowed Time (1985) and recently including a number of recent legal thrillers. His daughter Bronwen Hruska is the publisher of Soho Press.

Novelist Ted Mooney died on March 22 after living with heart disease. He was 70. Mooney was a longtime editor of Art in America and his novel Easy Travel to Other Planets was nominated for the National Book Award and won the Sue Kaufman Award for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

There will be a memorial for author Todd Gitlin at the Low Memorial Library at Columbia University on April 9 at 3:30 pm. The event is open to the public but rsvp’s to the following email address are appreciated: April9ToddGitlin@gmail.com

Margaret Kaplan, 91, former senior vp and executive editor of Abrams Artbooks, died on February 20. She joined Abrams as an editor in 1964. Eric Klopfer, executive editor at Abrams said, “Margaret was a pioneer, both at Abrams and within the publishing industry; she had a rare talent for perfectly balancing the art and the business of bookmaking. She was also a dear friend and mentor, full of wit, charm, zeal—and sage advice.”

Susan Doran, associate director of production at Macmillan, died on March 17. She joined the company in 1990. Raymond Ernesto Colón, director of production, MCPG, writes, “If you had the opportunity to know and collaborate with Susan, you know how kind, earnest, and committed she was. Susan’s absence will be felt throughout the industry as she has touched the lives of many – from authors to illustrators, colleagues to vendors, publishers to editors.”