Obituary Note: Mark Gates
Sad news: Mark Gates, longtime rep for Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Holt, died on Friday at age 57 of lung cancer.
Gates got his start in book publishing as a sales rep for the Village Voice, where he helped create VLS, the monthly Voice Literary Supplement. Eventually he became a commission sales rep, representing a range of publishers, and then became a house rep for FSG and Holt. He was Publishers Weekly's sales rep of the year in 2006, which he won with multiple nominations. Click here to read Claire Kirch's profile of him.
Gates was much-beloved in the industry by booksellers, other reps, publishers and anyone who shared his love of books and reading. In a long tribute, author Dean Bakopoulos wrote in part: "I'm not sure it's possible to forget Mark's voice, or his laugh, or the amazingly witty and self-deprecatory banter that made even the most awkward social or business gathering seem suddenly vibrant and full of warmth. I'm not sure it's possible to forget the things he did, because, along with a number of slapstick follies that are etched in our memories, so many of Mark's greatest gestures were acts of extraordinary compassion and generosity. But it's a certainty that we will never forget how Mark Gates made us feel, and that is, quite simply, this: he made us feel happy."
Mary Rowles of IPG wrote: "I was so fortunate to spend as much time as I did with this remarkable man. Despite the two years that we all had to prepare for this inevitability, I really haven't wrapped my head around the fact that he won't show up with his suitcase and laptop next week and camp out in my apartment for a few days. We knew each other for a mere 20 years or so. I can't believe the crater that he left behind."
Mary Alice Gorman of Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, Pa., called Gates "one of the best men in the biz. What an empty and soundless space in our world."
Memorial gifts may be made to the Dane County Humane Society or the Wisconsin Book Festival. Notes of condolence and stories about Gates should be sent to his partner, Steve Myck, 7794 Cherry Wood Lane, Verona, Wis. 53593. A memorial service is being planned for sometime in January.
