The editor of the Canadian book trade magazine died Sunday. The magazine’s site has a short posting, amplified by almost 100 comments. The cause of death was not indicated, but reportedly Weiler was “in poor health for several years.”Toronto Star In other obituaries, Judith Krug, 69, died Saturday of cancer. She started Banned Books Week in 1982, and was director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom since it was founded in 1967.
Obituary
John Updike, 76, Dies of Lung Cancer
The writer died yesterday morning, first announced with “great sadness” in a brief statement from his publisher, Knopf. “John was one of our greatest writers. He was a part of the Knopf family for over fifty years. We will all miss him terribly.” His longtime editor Judith Jones told USA Today that he was diagnosed after Thanksgiving. Coverage, obituaries, and testimonials abound. Among them:AP obitUSA Today storyChristopher Lehmann-Haupt’s NYT obitKakutani‘s appraisalDavid Ulin in the LATAnd The New Yorker has a number of reminiscences from other staff writers posted on their books blog
Peter Bowron Dies
Random UK ceo Gail Rebuck announced the sudden death on Saturday of the company’s group managing director Peter Bowron. She said: “Peter’s family, colleagues and many, many friends both in and out of the booktrade have lost an extraordinary person. It is devastating to lose someone you value for their intelligence, warmth, support and friendship. It is doubly so, to lose someone so suddenly and so young.” Bowron joined Random House in 2005.BookTrade
Richard Seaver Dies
Richard W. Seaver, founder and president of Arcade Publishing, passed away unexpectedly on January 5 after a heart attack. A memorial service will be announced in a few days. In lieu of flowers, Arcade reports they would be enormously grateful for any contributions to the PEN American Center. The NYT has an obituary today, calling him “an editor, translator and publisher who defied censorship, societal prudishness and conventional literary standards to bring works by rabble-rousing authors like Samuel Beckett, Henry Miller, William Burroughs and the Marquis de Sade to American readers.” In other personnel news, Lerner Publishing Group has hired […]
Bookseller Glenn Goldman Dies
The founder and owner of the West Hollywood independent bookstore Book Soup Glen Goldman died on Saturday at 58 of pancreatic cancer. Goldman founded the store in 1975. LAT book editor David Ulin posted a personal remembrance on the book section’s blog. Separately, LA Observed reported right before Goldman’s death that “staffers and friends of Sunset Strip fixture Book Soup are contacting potential buyers.” They add that, “judging by emails circulating in L.A. book circles, the search has become urgent in recent days.” The LAT’s obituary reports that Goldman decided to sell the store on Friday. But Book Soup general […]
People
Former Rodale Books editor-in-chief and then president Tami Booth Corwin has joined SparkPeople.com as evp of publishing and content, just as the company has struck their first book deal with Hay House. Agent Elise Proulx notes that her new job will be marketing and outreach coordinator for the eScholarship Publishing Group at the California Digital Library (CDL), University of California. Lori Burke will move over from DK to Penguin Children’s next week in the dual role of director of licensing for Grosset & Dunlap/Price Stern Sloan and US brand manager for Warne Books (Beatrix Potter, Spot and Flower Fairies), managing […]