Co-founder and president of Abbeville Press, Robert E. Abrams, 80, died on August 28. He created Abbeville in 1977 along with his late father, Harry N. Abrams. “Publishing,” Bob wrote, “is about deciding what content, ‘speech,’ is sufficiently meaningful to try to bring it to the attention of others. It is about trying to diminish ignorance and share the grace of human consciousness.” The company notes, “He had a profound sense of the significance, and the responsibility, of the publisher’s vocation…. Colleagues and friends alike can attest that stepping into Bob’s office was stepping into a lively, sometimes hours-long conversation […]
Obits
Obituary: Christopher Carduff
Wall Street Journal books editor Christopher Carduff, 66, died on Monday evening following a recent illness. He worked in editorial at Houghton Mifflin, Counterpoint Press, David R. Godine, and the New Criterion, and was a contributing editor at Library of America from 2006 to 2017, where he was the estate-appointed editor of posthumous works by Penelope Fitzgerald, William Maxwell, John Updike, and others. In 2017 he joined the WSJ as books editor. In a memo to staff on Monday, WSJ editorial page editor Paul Gigot writes, “Chris made a tremendous contribution to the Journal over his six years as Books […]
Bloomsbury, AAP Mark the Death of Vaughan
Bloomsbury Publishing chief executive Nigel Newton said in a statement regarding the tragic death of Bloomsbury USA president Adrienne Vaughan in Italy: “Our hearts go out to Adrienne’s husband and children, parents, family and friends. Bloomsbury is doing everything possible to provide the support they need on the ground in Naples and in the US. “The loss of Adrienne is a terrible blow. Since she was appointed President of Bloomsbury USA three years ago, America has grown to become our biggest market. “Adrienne was a natural business leader with a great future ahead of her. She was deeply loved by […]
Bloomsbury USA President Adrienne Vaughan Dies In Boating Accident In Italy
Adrienne Vaughan, 45, president of Bloomsbury USA, died early Thursday evening in a horrific and heartbreaking boating accident off the Amalfi Coast of Italy. On vacation with her family, Vaughan was thrown from a chartered 29-foot sightseeing boat when it collided with a larger 130-foot sailboat carrying about 85 people as part of a wedding party. She was declared dead on the scene back onshore by first responders before a helicopter could take her to the hospital. Her husband Mike suffered more modest injuries, and their two children were not harmed physically in the incident. CNN later confirmed that initial […]
Obituary: James Hayman
James Hayman, author of the bestselling McCabe & Savage police procedural mysteries, died on June 15 in Maine.
Obituary: Milan Kundera
Czech novelist Milan Kundera, 94, died on Tuesday in France after a prolonged illness. A communist supporter who was twice expelled from the party, his books were critical of Soviet leadership and banned in his native country. Kundera’s most popular book, THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (1984) was not published in the Czech Republic until 2006.