My friend Mary Cowan, who has died aged 99, rebelled against her privileged background and in the 1930s became a communist.She was born in Edinburgh, where her father, John Jameson, was the Conservative MP for Edinburgh West. Her mother, Margaret (nee Smith), was the daughter of a master of Balliol College, Oxford. Descended from the Forster family which had owned Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, Mary and her cousins lived in the castle during holidays.In the 1930s Mary married Anthony Cowan. After the second world war they moved to Newton, near Edinburgh, where Mary raised their four children. With little formal schooling, mainly having been tutored at home, Mary read widely and grew critical of the role of British imperialism in the Middle East and Africa, no doubt influenced by her cousins Thomas and Edward Hodgkin, authors respectively of books on Africa and Palestine.She became active in the Medical Aid Committee for Vietnam, and in her 60s went to work in Vietnam, a country she felt great sympathy for as it emerged from the war. Mary admired the resilience and fortitude of the Vietnamese people. She was much valued for her work translating Vietnamese poetry from French into English; these and some of her own poems have been published, the latter in Singing in Tune with Time: Stories and Poems about Ageing (1993) and in the Scottish magazine Cencrastus.A keen reader of the Morning Star, Mary supported progressive, anti-imperialist change everywhere – in Cuba,... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
Jeremy Tarcher, the founder of the publishing company Tarcher Books (now part of the Tarcher Perigee imprint of Penguin Random House), died September 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The former MIT Press director who pioneered the strategy of focused disciplinary specialization, created the first university press website, and published the first interactive ebook died late last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Jakes, the daughter of The Potter’s Church founder T.D. Jakes who became pregnant at age 13, pairs the responsibilities of modern motherhood with teachings from the Mary, the mother of Jesus, in her new book "Dear Mary." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Perle, who served as publisher of William Morrow, among other top level positions across publishing houses, died August 20 at the age of 59, after living with breast cancer for more than eight years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Prolific children’s author, collage artist, and world traveler Ann McGovern died on Saturday, August 8, at her home in New York City. She was 85. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Patricia Day Stein, who was v-p and co-founder of the book publisher Stein and Day with her then husband Sol Stein, died on July 16 in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., of natural causes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of the most celebrated American novelists best known for his historical fiction whose books Ragtime and Billy Bathgate were turned into filmsAnointed “our pre-eminent lefty” among contemporary American novelists, EL Doctorow, who has died aged 84, was praised as the “epic poet” of the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E.L. Doctorow, the American author best known for such novels as 'Ragtime' and 'The March,' died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 84. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After a long struggle with cancer, the founder of Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook, N.Y., passed away on Sunday July 19. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Items that inspired 'Mary Poppins,' given by P.L. Travers herself, are on view at the Children's Center of the main branch of the New York Public Library. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Braman, who served as v-p and publishing director at HarperCollins, then v-p. and editor-in-chief at Henry Holt, died on July 2 of complications with breast cancer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Brannigan, a well-known executive in the audiobook industry and former president of the Audio Publishers Association, passed away on June 29 after a brief illness. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former American Booksellers Association CEO Avin Domnitz died of cancer on June 27. During his tenure he advanced the cause of independent booksellers, creating Book Sense (now IndieBound) and Winter Institute. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The founder of Seattle Mystery Bookshop in Seattle, Wash., died on Sunday, June 28, just days before the bookstore will celebrate its 25th anniversary on July 1. He was 83. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning children's author Judith St. George, widely known for her many titles drawing on events and figures of American history, died in her home in Bloomfield, Conn., on June 10. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My friend and former colleague Belinda Hollyer, who has died aged 70, was an author of children’s books and also worked extensively in publishing.Belinda was born in Takapuna, New Zealand, to James and Dieudonnee Bracewell, who were both schoolteachers. After studying at university in Auckland... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Exceptional service in the Second World War was a prologue to a publishing career at two influential global groups for Gordon Graham, who is remembered by former publishing analyst Eric de Bellaigue Gordon Graham, who died on 24th April 2015 aged 94, was a past president of the Publishers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Red Wheel/Weiser sales manager Margaret (Meg) Richardson died on Friday, May 8, 2015, after a brief battle with cancer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author-illustrator Marcia Brown, the much-lauded recipient of three Caldecott Medals and six Caldecott Honors, among other accolades, died on April 28. She was 96. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Donald H. McGee, former president and publisher of Courage Books, an imprint of Running Press passed away in Sarasota, Fla. on April 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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