Helen Dressner, 91, a former sales rep for Random House, died October 25 of a stroke. She joined the company as a marketing associate in 1977, and for the majority of her career, worked as a national accounts sales manager. Kim Hovey, svp and deputy publisher, Ballantine Bantam Dell, writes, “I had the honor of working with Helen for many years, and was always in awe of what a great salesperson she was. Smart, savvy, and always loved to read, discuss, and champion our books. An amazing colleague and friend.”
Obits
Obituary: Stephen Rubin
Stephen Rubin, 81, former president and publisher at Doubleday for 15 years, died on October 13 in a Manhattan hospital following “a brief and sudden illness,” according to his nephew. Rubin joined Bantam Books as executive editor in 1984, and went on to preside over Doubleday as president and publisher for 15 years, overseeing the publication of John Grisham and Dan Brown. He left Random House in 2009 and shortly thereafter joined Macmillan, where he led and reSuscitated Henry Holt, overseeing the publication of Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing” series and Michael Wolff’s FIRE AND FURY. Most recently, he was a consulting […]
Obituary: Louise Glück
Poet Louise Glück, 80, died of cancer on October 13. Glück won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for THE WILD IRIS, the National Book Award in 2014 for FAITHFUL AND VIRTUOUS NIGHT, and the Nobel Prize in 2020. She was also the US Poet Laureate from 2003-2004.
Obituary: Ed Young
Children’s book illustrator and author Ed Young, 91, died on September 29 in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. Young illustrated more than 100 children’s books, including Jane Yolen’s The Emperor and the Kite, which received a Caldecott Honor in 1968. He also wrote and illustrated Lon Po Po, which won the Caldecott Medal in 1991, and Seven Blind Mice, which received a 1993 Caldecott Honor.
Obituary: Gita Mehta
Author and journalist Gita Mehta, 80, died on September 16. She was the widow of longtime Knopf editor-in-chief and Knopf Doubleday chairman Sonny Mehta.
Obituaries: Robert Abrams, Edith Grossman, Sarah Young
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 […]