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| John Adams (r.) with Crown/PRH author Barack Obama. | |
John Adams, longtime salesperson and national accounts manager at Penguin Random House, died on Monday of an apparent heart attack at age 64.
In a letter to staff, Jaci Updike, president of U.S. sales at PRH, wrote in part that Adams "had just ended a call yesterday with his sales team, where he was his usual self, cracking jokes and full of energy. To then receive the news that his heart had stopped was a shock to us all."
Adams began his publishing career in 1979 as a sales rep for Little, Brown, based in Washington, D.C. In 1986, he joined Crown/Outlet as a sales rep covering the South. In 1995, he was promoted to national accounts manager, and "thrived in that role for the entirety of his career with us," Updike wrote.
"There is so much that was impressive about John: he was a brilliant and dedicated reader, especially of our history books, even when there was no chance his accounts would carry them. At sales conference, when a publisher presented an 800+ page book on an obscure historical subject, it was not unusual to see John lean into the microphone with brilliant words of appreciation and support, positioning the book for the rest of us. Sometimes it seemed that he read every book that Knopf's Ash Green and Random House's Bob Loomis signed up.
"And no one was more amazing to be around when the meetings were over. At company meals and events, John was always the heart of the fun, sharing his special magic with anyone who wandered over, no matter what accounts they sold or what their title was. He was a fearless optimist who believed anything was possible; that the account would see the opportunity that the books would sell, that the Baltimore Ravens would win. He was a terrible golfer who left every bad game entirely sure his next game would be spectacular.
"And like the best team players, John helped pick you up when you stumbled, and convinced you that you would absolutely nail it the next time you tried.
"Because, most of all, John was a mentor. He personally mentored many of the younger colleagues he worked with, and he also was a mentor in the broader sense: year after year, book by book, in meeting after meeting, he demonstrated that it is possible to do hard work in difficult circumstances with a joy and authenticity that inspires others. Whether the world was going through tough times, or the company was having an off year, or a publisher was hoping to make a seemingly impossible Costco bestseller out of niche midlist, John never failed to bring his signature optimism, energy, and warmth to every conversation. With a single well-chosen word, or loving nickname, he could turn around the mood of a room faster and better than anyone I have ever known."