A miracle in action: Diana Athill's editorial genius

Joining André Deutsch in the late 80s, I saw a great editor at the top of her game, tirelessly working to bring good writing to perfectionIndependent publishing was at a dangerous moment in 1987 when I was ushered at the age of 26 into a lowly place in the publicity department of André Deutsch Ltd. But the company was flourishing. Deutsch had Gore Vidal, Molly Keane and John Updike. Penelope Lively won the Booker for Moon Tiger in my first week and the backlist-bookshelves lining the corridor to the dim publicity offices were a treasurehouse of the boldest and the best in fiction, from Don DeLillo to Jean Rhys, Jack Kerouac, Wole Soyinka and VS Naipaul. But most significant for me was the unparalleled commitment and intelligence of an editorial department led by Diana Athill.It is hard to overstate the importance of those editors – who were almost all women – as role models in my life. Diana stands for them all. At 70, she was still working at the top of her game, her subtle gifts for precision, diplomacy, deftness and clear-sighted calm in the face of writerly impatience (or worse) quite undiminished – as will come as no surprise to anyone who knew her to be quite as sharp 30 years later. In editorial meetings she was beady-eyed and ruthless where poor writing was concerned, but also unstinting in championing writers she loved. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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