Nigel Viney, who "worked in London publishing during the sixties and seventies, culminating in the role of managing director of Heinemann and serving on the board for many years," died January 9, the Bookseller reported. He was 95. Viney began his career in the trade as a bookseller, first at Blackwells in Oxford then at Dennys in London. He joined William Heinemann in 1963 as production manager, "subsequently moving into editorial, where he was engaged in projects including editing the official life of Churchill over many volumes, initially working with Randolph Churchill and latterly with Martin Gilbert."
Laura Morris, who worked with Viney while at Secker and Warburg, then sister company to Heinemann, said: "Witty and charismatic, his good temper and sense of humor made him a hugely popular figure, not only at Heinemann but also in the wider publishing and printing worlds. He managed to make routine production meetings sparkle with fun: he would always concentrate on the elements of a book which surprised him, and if that led into an amusing anecdote of two, so much the better. His zest for life was never far from the surface."
In retirement, Viney wrote several books, including The Great Paintings of England (1989), Images of Wartime--British Art and Artists of World War I (1991), and The Bluffer's Guide to Consultancy (2005).
"He continued to keep up with old publishing friends and colleagues well into his nineties, driving himself to wherever a genial group was gathered, and he never tired of sharing and swapping mischievous memories," Morris noted.