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| John Donatich (photo: Andrew Hurley) |
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John Donatich, director of Yale University Press, will retire on June 30, 2025.
Peter Salovey, president of Yale University, said, "John has served with distinction for over 20 years, and he will be greatly missed. Since arriving at the Press in 2003, John has expanded its award-winning trade list, transformed its scholarly publishing programs, and forged numerous new publishing and distribution partnerships."
Donatich said, "What a privilege and honor it has been for me to lead Yale University Press for more than two decades. I am most grateful for my colleagues' professionalism and excellence; we have fulfilled our primary mission of publishing rigorous and challenging books that display not only scholarly rigor and financial sustainability but that shine with a certain luster, attract critical attention, win prestigious prizes, are talked about and loved, and, as things of beauty, sell prominently. I've always believed that books are a form of activism as well as a kind of charm; each has the power to change the world one mind at a time. I feel so proud and lucky to have been at the helm of Yale Press, taking up that charge every day, and leaving a legacy of publications that matter."
Among Donatich's accomplishments at Yale University Press:
- Founding the Little History series, built on the success of E.H. Gombrich's A Little History of the World.
- Acting as founding editor of the Cecile and Theodore Margellos World Republic of Letters, dedicated to bringing world literature into the English language.
- Conceiving or overseeing Why X Matters and several sets of short, thematic biographies: Jewish Lives, Ancient Lives, and the recently launched Black Lives
- Partnering with the Windham Campbell Literature Prizes at Yale to publish the annual "Why I Write" lectures.
- Establishing three Yale-affiliated series: the Henry Roe Cloud Series on American Indians and Modernity; the Yale Drama Series, an annual international competition for emerging playwrights; and the Yale Nonfiction Book Prize, established this year in collaboration with the Yale Review.
- Expanding the Press's offerings in fashion history, including the popular Catwalk series.
- Establishing a new sales and distribution partnership with W.W. Norton & Company, which will handle sales and distribution of Yale's list to wholesale, retail, library, and specialty accounts starting in fall 2024.
- Strengthening the Press's financial footing by spearheading fundraising efforts in excess of $40 million.