Politcal satirist P.J. O’Rourke, 74, died on February 15 of complications of lung cancer. His books included Parliament of Whores, and most recently How the Hell Did This Happen? The Election of 2016.
Obits
Obituary: Valerie Boyd
Valarie Boyd, 58, author of Wrapped in Rainbows and editor of the forthcoming Gathering Blossoms Under Fire by Alice Walker (to be published by Simon & Schuster on April 12), died on February 12. She was working on an anthology titled Bigger Than Bravery: Black Resilience and Reclamation in a Time of Pandemic. Dana Canedy, svp and publisher of Simon & Schuster said, “We are deeply saddened by the news of the death of Valerie Boyd. Boyd was a tremendous talent who touched so many with her generous spirit and deep commitment to storytelling.”
Obituary: Tom Dupree
Tom Dupree, 72, who was an editor at Bantam and Harper Collins, died on February 7 at his home in New York City of cardio-respiratory arrest. Penguin Random House writes in their internal newsletter, “Gracious and soft-spoken, he loved his job, and his enthusiasm was contagious.”
Obituaries: Jason Epstein Dies At 93
Editor and innovator Jason Epstein, 93, died on Friday at home on Sag Harbor, his daughter Helen Epstein confirmed to the NYT. Creator of Anchor Books when he was 25, longtime editorial director at Random House, and co-creator of The New York Review of Books and the Library of America, the NYT calls him “the editor, author and publishing visionary who introduced the quality paperback to American readers.” As the paper notes, “He officially retired in 1999 but continued to edit books into his 80s.” Penguin Random House said in a statement: “We mourn the passing of our extraordinary, pathfinding […]
Obituary: G.M. Ford
Mystery novelist G.M. Ford died on December 1, 2021 in San Diego. In 1995 he published his debut Who in Hell is Wanda Fuca?, featuring Seattle private investigator Leo Waterman, which was a finalist for the Anthony and Shamus awards and went on to be a 12-book series. He is also the author of the Frank Corso mysteries and a number of standalone novels.
Obituary: Lee Server
Lee Server, 68, author of numerous books about Hollywood cinema and pulp fiction, died on December 28. He is survived by his wife, Terri Hardin. His notable titles include Screenwriter: Words Become Pictures (1987), Danger Is My Business (1993) and Over My Dead Body! (1994).