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| Alice Mayhew | |
Legendary editor Alice Mayhew, v-p and editorial director of Simon & Schuster, died February 4. She was 87. Mayhew's first job in publishing was writing reviews for Commonweal. She then held editorial positions at Harper & Row and Random House before joining Simon & Schuster in 1971. In her nearly 50 years with the company, she "established herself as a true mainstay of our publishing efforts, editing a distinguished list of writers in history, biography, journalism, politics, contemporary affairs and popular culture," S&S president and CEO Carolyn K. Reidy said in a statement.
Reidy noted that Mayhew's "long and illustrious list of authors reads like a who's who of the best and the bestselling in nonfiction over the past five decades." Four authors published by her--Taylor Branch, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Diane McWhorter and Garry Wills--were awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and many others received prestigious honors and recognitions. Works like Our Bodies, Ourselves from the Boston Women's Health Book Collective became lasting cultural touchstones. She was also the editor of All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.
"Those of us who worked with Alice, and I have had the pleasure for nearly 30 years, knew her to be sharp, direct and astute," Reidy observed. "[S]he could be tough, but her passion, enthusiasm and wisdom were always expressed in the service of bringing out the best work possible from her authors, and then assuring that they received the best possible publication they could expect to receive."
Noting that S&S publisher Jonathan Karp said Mayhew "had the grit of TR and the wit of FDR," Reidy added: "Needless to say she was highly opinionated, and we were the beneficiaries of her unique insights, which served to make all of us better at what we do. Not least, her office was a training ground for innumerable assistants who went on to great accomplishments and careers in book publishing and related fields."
Reidy also said that Mayhew's loyalty to her authors "was so absolute that despite her extraordinary record in publishing and the many offers she received over the years, she repeatedly refused to participate in any form of publicity or recognition for her achievements, never wavering in her conviction that the spotlight should always remain entirely focused on her authors. It is no wonder, then, that her dedication and commitment were frequently returned in the form of author-editor relationships that lasted decades and entire careers.
"Whether she was sharing some good news about one of her books, or her always fascinating observations about the political events of the day (politics being her other full-time passion), Alice remained until the very end an exemplar of what an editor could and should be. It is difficult to imagine Simon & Schuster without Alice and her unrelenting energy: her contribution to our company and our culture has been immense, and she will be deeply missed both here and in the larger literary community."