Nick Perren, a "publisher's publisher" and chairman of Profile Books, has died, the Bookseller reported. He was 68. Perren was also the non-executive director of Waterstones since 2011; chairman of Laurence King publisher; a director of Messaggerie Italiane Gruppo and Il Saggiatore in Italy; and chairman of William Reed Holding Ltd. Previously, he had been managing director of John Murray "until leading the sale of the company to Hachette in 2002," the Bookseller wrote.
"Nick Perren was a real publisher's publisher," said Profile Books managing director Andrew Franklin. "Perhaps he was not widely known outside the book trade, but he was the perfect insider. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of the international world of books and knew everyone. He cared passionately about the health of the book trade and the people who work in it."
Waterstones managing director James Daunt said Perren "was instrumental to the successful turnaround at Waterstones over this period. His judgement of a rapidly changing market proved to be consistently insightful, and the manner of his guidance always hugely supportive. He was a true friend."
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Author and gay rights icon Elliot Tiber died on Wednesday. He was 81. He told his life story in Taking Woodstock, published by Square One Publishers in 2007, recounting his time as a successful New York City interior designer, a filmmaker, playwright, college professor, LGBTQ activist, and in particular, in 1969 being at the Stonewall Riots, then helping find a location for the Woodstock Festival. In 2009, director Ang Lee made a movie based on the book.
Lee commented on Tiber's death: "One day in San Francisco, a total stranger gave me a book, and a couple of years later, I ended up making a movie from it. I still find this astonishing, but the stranger happened to be Elliot Tiber, one of the most interesting--and talkative--people I've ever met; and the book was Taking Woodstock, his wonderful memoir of that last moment of innocence in 1969. It was a privilege for me to share a part of Elliot Tiber's life, and history on screen. I will miss him."
Actor Demetri Martin said, "It was an honor to portray Elliot, not just because of the role he played in making Woodstock happen, but even more so because of the courage and candor with which he lived his life and shared his story."