Romance writer Fern Michaels, 92, died on November 12 at her home in Summerville, SC. She was the bestselling author of over 200 thrillers and romance novels, selling an estimated 150 million copies worldwide. The author’s real name was Mary Kuczkir; Fern Michaels was a pen name she wrote under with writing partner Roberta Anderson. Michaels legally took over the pen name and made it her public persona in 1989. She was best known for the Sisterhood series.
Obits
Obituary: Porter Anderson
Porter Anderson, editor-in-chief of Publishing Perspectives, has died, the site announced today. Anderson led Publishing Perspectives since 2016 and moderated panels at book fairs around the world. In 2019 he was awarded International Trade Press Journalist of the Year at the London Book Fair. He also co-founded The Hot Sheet author newsletter with Jane Friedman (now known as The Bottom Line). Previously, Anderson was an arts critic at several newspapers and senior producer and anchor for CNN. He also worked as a diplomat, an actor, and in PR and advertising. “All of us who have known him personally over the […]
Obituary: Daniel Woodrell
Novelist Daniel Woodrell, 72, died on November 28 of pancreatic cancer. He wrote dark stories of rural America, which he described as “country noir,” including WINTER’S BONE (2006).
Obituary: Jeanette Winter
Picture book author-illustrator Jeanette Winter, 86, died on November 7 in New York. The cause was heart and kidney failure. Winter created more than 65 books, particularly biographies and nonfiction picture books, including Follow the Drinking Gourd; The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq; Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia; Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan; and Our House Is on Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet. Longtime editor Allyn Johnston, vp & publisher of Beach Lane Books, said that Winter completed a manuscript about Johnston’s family home that was destroyed in the Los […]
Obituary: Ellen Bryant Voigt
Former poet Laureate of Vermont and pulitzer finalist Ellen Bryant Voigt died on October 23. She was a founder of the Goddard College low-residency MFA program, and received grants from the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 2015 she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Obituaries: CW Gortner and Tim Cook
Author CW Gortner died on October 25. He wrote 16 historical novels focusing on women including Catherine Medici, Lucrezia Borgia, Marlene Dietrich, and Coco Chanel. His most recent book, The Saint Laurent Muse, was published by William Morrow in March. Bestselling author and historian Tim Cook has died. He wrote more than 20 books on Canadian military history, and his forthcoming book, The Unquiet Western Front, will be published by Allen Lane/Penguin Canada next year.