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| Nan Talese in 2009 (via) | |
Nan A. Talese, president, publisher & editorial director of the Nan A. Talese imprint at Doubleday, is retiring at the end of the year after a career spanning more than 60 years.
Maya Mavjee, president and publisher, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, said, "While she is a pioneer in publishing, Nan is first and foremost a reader, and her passion for books is well-known. She has made a lasting mark on the world of American letters, all the while remaining a cherished and dedicated colleague. Most important, Nan has been a fierce advocate for her authors and their books. Her vast intellect as well as her editorial and publishing acumen will be sorely missed."
Madeline McIntosh, CEO, Penguin Random House U.S., said, "From my first days of selling her list a few decades ago and onward, it has always been a supreme honor to work with Nan and to be connected to her books. Nan's brilliance, generosity of spirit, and editorial expertise have changed the bookselling world at large. We will all miss working with her immensely."
Talese began her book publishing career in 1959 when she left Vogue and joined Random House as a copy editor. She was later promoted to literary editor, the first woman in that position, working with writers such as A.E. Hotchner and Robert Penn Warren, among others.
She then went to Simon & Schuster, where she edited Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally, and Houghton Mifflin, where she acquired The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy.
Since starting her imprint at Doubleday in 1990, Graham has published a stellar list of authors, including Atwood, Ian McEwan, Adam Haslett, Alex Kotlowitz, Pat Conroy, Thomas Keneally, Mia Farrow, Jim Crace, Valerie Martin, Peter Ackroyd, Mary Morris, Louis Begley, Jennifer Egan, Mark Richard, Judy Collins, Barry Unsworth, Antonia Fraser, Thomas Cahill, Janet Wallach and George Plimpton.
In 2005, Talese was the first recipient of the Center for Fiction's Maxwell E. Perkins Award for lifetime achievement.
Margaret Atwood commented: "No editor has seen so many changes and done so much in publishing as the legendary and much beloved Nan Talese, known fondly to some as 'the Nanster.' She first came into my life at Simon & Schuster, then dragged me behind her troika as she galloped through the wilderness to Houghton Mifflin--where she acquired The Handmaid's Tale sight unseen, in a preemptive bid--and then sashayed over to Doubleday. 'Nanster, what are you doing?' I cried in dismay. 'I like a challenge,' she said calmly, adjusting her white beret and trademark pearls. I can't imagine her actually 'retiring.' It's a figure of speech. She will continue reading, and reading my work, I hope, and offering commentary: 'None of these people are very nice.' "