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| Susan Kamil | |
Susan Kamil, the renowned editor and publisher for more than 40 years and executive v-p and publisher at Random House, died on Sunday at age 69, of complications from lung cancer, the New York Times reported.
In a message to staff yesterday, Random House president and publisher Gina Centrello called the death of "our vibrant, beloved" Kamil "shattering in so many ways. Susan was a brilliant editor, who guided her beloved authors through the creative process with the greatest insight, energy, and care. As a gifted publisher for the Random House lists, her leadership and generosity of spirit has had a profound and far-reaching impact. Above all, she was a deeply committed, endlessly supportive colleague to all of us--our unwavering, passionate champion."
The authors she worked with include Salman Rushdie, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Sophie Kinsella, Elizabeth Strout, Annie Barrows, Ruth Reichl and Gary Shteyngart.
Rushdie said in a statement, "Susan was one of the great editors, and working with her has been the best experience of my writing life. Her clarity and sharpness were invaluable to me and I trusted her instincts always. She was also one of the loveliest human beings I have known, and I grew to love her very much. It's a devastating loss for so many of us."
According to the Bookseller, Kinsella wrote on social media: "We became so close over the many years we worked together--she was a brilliant publisher, editor and friend. I will miss her voice, her laugh, her wisdom and her hugs."
On Facebook, PRH sales manager Michael Kindness wrote in part, "If you're lucky, your workplace has one of those people... someone who is wildly intelligent, fiercely kind, and just makes those around them smile. Susan Kamil played that vital role for Random House.
"She was one of the first editors who knew my name. Whenever we all got together for sales conference, catching up with her was one of the highlights. She once took Ronald Koltnow and I out to breakfast to tell about this great little book (with a weird title) that she'd just acquired. Maybe you've heard of it? The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society."
Early in her career, Kamil worked at Macmillan, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich and Simon & Schuster. When S&S publisher Joni Evans moved to Random House, she founded the Turtle Bay imprint and in 1991 named Kamil executive editor. At Random House, Kamil held a variety of executive and editorial positions, including head of Dial Press and of Bantam Books and was editor-in-chief of the Random House imprint.