Obituary

Grand Central associate publisher for the past decade Les Pockell, 68, died at home on Monday. Publisher Jamie Raab tells the AP “she liked to call him ‘The Professor’ because Pockell knew so much about so many subjects and would become visibly animated in discussion. ‘He was the smartest person we knew.'” His former boss Larry Kirshbaum “remembered Pockell as a thinking man who stood out at a relatively commercial publishing house. He was also regarded as a mentor with a great deal to teach and a willingness to let others take the credit.”AP

Richard Marek reports to us that longtime book editor Joyce Engelson died on Christmas of pneumonia. In her long career she was editor-in-chief at Abelard Schuman, executive editor of The Dial Press, editor-in-chief of Richard Marek Publishers at St. Martin’s and Putnam, editor-in-chief of Dutton, and editor at large for Crown. Among the hundreds of authors she edited were Richard Condon, Samuel Shem, Norman Cousins, Heywood Hale Broun, Irving Howe, Gael Green and Ishmael Reed. Marek writes: “Known for her fierce honesty with authors – young editors at Richard Marek Publishers used to stand by her office door when she […]

Bookseller and former ABA officer and board member Joel Turner, 58, died this past weekend. He cofounded Under Cover Books in Shaker Heights, OH in 1978 with his siblings Philip and Pamela Turner. In the 90s he turned the focus to serving served businesses, corporate libraries, schools, and public institutions as Undercover Book Service and developed a sideline in antiquarian and used books. Philip and Pamela write: “Plans for memorializing Joel are being considered. For those wishing to mark Joel’s life with a charitable donation we urge you to make contributions to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression or […]