David C. Nelson, 78, died in New York City on April 26 from complications of dementia. He began his publishing career at Micawber’s Books and the wholesaler Bookman in the Twin Cities before joining Viking Penguin as a Midwest sales representative in 1978 and rose to become vp, director of sales for adult hardcover and children’s books in 1991. Thereafter, his roles included vp, director of sales at Harcourt Brace; vp and publisher at Beaufort Books; executive editor at Sterling Publishing, where he founded the Ethos imprint; and finally literary agent at Waterside Productions. A celebration in his memory will […]
Obituary
Obituary: Gilbert Perlman, 72
Longtime publishing and distribution executive Gilbert Perlman, 72, died on May 26, “suddenly, but on his own terms,” his children write. “He spent his final moments outside on a beautiful day, sitting in an Adirondack chair in the yard he loved so much. For someone who adamantly didn’t want to waste away or make things ‘harder’ on his family, this was fitting.” Perlman was an executive at Random House in the 1990s, including serving as evp of Ballantine and the Randomsoft software line, before setting up the first Random House Client Services distribution division in 1997, where he was president. […]
Obituary: Lydia Wills, 62
Literary agent Lydia Wills, 62, died on April 29. She founded and ran her own agency, Lydia Wills LLC, after working at Janklow & Nesbit and Paradigm. Her survivors include her father, author and historian Garry Wills.
Remembrance: Clara Heyworth, 28
Verso announced Wednesday on their web site “the tragic loss of Clara Heyworth, marketing manager” after she was hit by a car in Brooklyn early Sunday. They say she never regained consciousness. “The loss to Verso is immeasurable…. While her primary interest was in publicity she had very strong editorial views and intervened forcefully whenever she felt that by taking on an inappropriate manuscript Verso’s standards would be diluted. A young life so meaninglessly and prematurely truncated pains us all, but we will not forget her or her bright-eyed smile that so often lit an entire office.” Heyworth was married […]
People, Etc.
Lynda Zuber Sassi has been named director of special sales for Ryland Peters & Small and CICO Books. She was previously a national accounts manager at Chronicle Books. Effective May 1, Square One Books will be distributed by Thomas Allen & Son. Previously they were distributed by the University of Toronto Press. At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Andrea Welch has been promoted to senior editor, Beach Lane Books. Greg Britton will join the Johns Hopkins University Press as editorial director on May 16, where he will also be a senior member of the press’s executive committee. Previously he led the […]
People, Etc.
Author, former editor and attorney Jeff Ourvan has joined the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency as a literary agent. He focuses on non-fiction works, especially memoirs, histories, biographies, international current events and sports, along with some young adult, thriller and international fiction. Stephanie Knapp is joining Crown trade paperbacks assistant editor, reporting to Heather Lazare and Alexis Washam. She was an editorial assistant at Rodale Books. She will “concentrate on backlist optimization in print and digital formats with a focus on practical non-fiction.” Keen Communications mourns the passing of Thomas Winnett, founder of Wilderness Press, who died last week at 89. […]