We offer both an official obituary and a personal recollection of Dan Lundy:
Daniel T. Lundy, longtime vice president, director of academic and
library marketing and sales at Penguin Group (USA), passed away Monday
evening, May 29, at Jacob Perlow Hospice in New York City, due to
complications from lung cancer. He was 51. Widely respected and
highly regarded throughout the academic book publishing world, Lundy
oversaw the largest combined academic marketing department at a major
consumer book publishing house for close to 16 years.
He worked with such notable bestselling authors as Nathaniel Philbrick,
Khaled Hosseini, Jared Diamond, Susan Vreeland, Dava Sobel, Mark
Bowden, Leonard Maltin and Paul Rusesabagina, among many others.
"Such a gap he'll be leaving," said Susan Vreeland. "It's right that he
receives some recognition for the behind-the-scenes work he did for so
many Penguin authors. He was always a strong supporter of my work. I
remember Dan's humor, his solicitousness for me. We often spoke of his
boys. My heart goes out to them now, and to his wife. I wish I could
return the support Dan gave me."
He was an active member of many publishing trade organizations, such as
the Association of American Publishers, the American Library Association,
the International Reading Association, Friends of Libraries USA and the
National Association of College Stores.
Dan Lundy was born December 14, 1954 in Westfield, N.J. He graduated
from Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn., with a B.A. degree in English
Literature in 1977. He began his career in book publishing in 1984 and
worked for a number of small presses before becoming marketing manager
of academic Books at Oxford University Press. He joined Penguin in 1990.
Extremely well-read, Lundy was an authority on classic literature and was a lifelong fan of music, particularly bluegrass.
Dan, formerly of Manhattan, leaves behind his wife, Mary Sue, and sons,
Jared and Damon, as well his mother, Janet M. Lundy, and father, Daniel
F. Lundy, and sisters, Mary Lundy Zilinskas, Joanne Ranagan, and Sue
Lundy.
A memorial service will be held
tomorrow, Friday, 7-9 p.m. at Andrett Funeral Home, 353 Second Avenue
(at 20th Street), in New York City. In lieu of flowers, donations can
be made in Lundy's name to the
Pinelands Preservation Alliance, 17 Pemberton Rd., Southampton, N.J. 08088.
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Concerning Dan, Cindy Thompson, director of committee/state relations at the National Association of College Stores, writes:
On Tuesday morning, I got the news that my best friend in publishing,
Dan Lundy, had passed away. Since the early 1990s, Dan and I had worked
together on the Book & Author Breakfast held at the Annual Meeting
and Campus Market Expo of the National Association of College Stores.
He was always the calm one, and it became a standing joke between us.
Over the years, Dan and his wonderful company, Penguin, became more and
more involved with our efforts. Not only the breakfast, but our keynote
presentations and education sessions as well. He always had an idea for
a speaker, and a way to help us realize it. And he always took such
good care of people. It got to the point that we included an
acknowledgement of Dan in all our event introductions. The last time I
saw him was at our convention in Houston in March. Dan never liked the
limelight, but agreed to take the stage on behalf of Penguin, to
receive an award acknowledging the company's 60 consecutive years of
exhibiting at our convention. He was a class act that night as we
always knew him to be.
Dan's commitment to academic marketing went beyond our convention, to
other meetings, events for state and regional college store
associations, and local programs for kids. He tirelessly promoted
college stores to his colleagues in publishing as well, which I found
remarkable. He had a great sense of humor, sharp wit, and an inspiring
commitment to his family. I always looked forward to seeing him. Today
I can't imagine what it will be like without him.
The bookselling industry is a very generous one, and one that I have
loved since I joined it as a bookseller many years ago, and then as a
NACS staff member. I have met too many wonderful people to begin to
count, and I will always remember Dan that way. I guess we always hope
that the people we love will be the ones to beat the odds, and I hoped
that for Dan. It was not to be, but I am so grateful for the time I
spent with him, and for the programs we created together. He will be
missed so much.
Our
first picture to the editor comes from Joyce Ripp, administrator and
trade show
manager at the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.
The image, taken at Books By the Bay, is of her and Carlos Ruiz
Zafon, whose The Shadow of the Wind
translated by Lucia Graves (Penguin, $15, 0143034901), is the focus, as
reported here yesterday, of a Penguin Sales Group push to get it on the
New York Times bestseller list and help it "gain an ever-wide readership."
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