Carolyn_Reidy

Carolyn Reidy

Carolyn Reidy

American executive, head of Simon & Schuster (1949-2020)

Carolyn Kroll Reidy (May 2, 1949 – May 12, 2020) was an American business executive who was president and CEO of the American publishing company Simon & Schuster.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

While CEO, Reidy was named the publishing industry's Person of the Year by the trade publication Publishers Weekly in 2019.[1] In 2018, she was recognized as the PEN America Publisher Honoree.[2]

Early life and education

Carolyn Judith Kroll[3] was born in Washington, D.C., on May 2, 1949, the daughter of Henry August Kroll and his wife, Mildred Josephine (née Mencke),[4][1] and grew up in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland. She attended Middlebury College as an undergraduate and Indiana University for graduate studies, where she earned a Ph.D. in English in 1982.[3][5] Her dissertation was titled, The reader as character in the High Victorian novel: studies of the reader/writer relationship in Vanity Fair, the Way We Live Now, Middlemarch, and the Egoist. Reidy's doctoral advisor was Donald Gray [Wikidata].[6]

Career

Reidy began her career in publishing in 1974 with Random House in the subsidiary rights department,[7] and eventually became associate publisher and publisher of its subdivision, Vintage Books.[4][7] She went on to be publisher and president of Avon Books.[8]

In 1992, she joined Simon & Schuster as president of its Trade Division, then in 2001 became president of the Adult Publishing Group. She was made CEO of the entire publishing house in 2008.[3]

She is known for navigating the company through the Great Recession and for publishing authors such as Doris Kearns Goodwin, David W. Blight, Stephen King, Jennifer Weiner, and Jason Reynolds.[3]

Personal life and death

In 1974, she married Stephen Reidy before joining Random House.[4]

Carolyn Reidy died of a heart attack in Southampton, NY, on May 12, 2020, aged 71.[1][9][10] She was survived by her husband and three siblings.[3] She was posthumously awarded the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.[11]

References

  1. [1]
    "Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy dies at 71, company says". AP NEWS. May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  2. [2]
    Maher, John (January 16, 2018). "Stephen King, Carolyn Reidy to Be Honored at PEN Gala". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  3. [3]
    León, Concepción de (May 12, 2020). "Carolyn Reidy, the Head of Simon & Schuster, Is Dead at 71". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  4. [4]
    Elizabeth Sleeman (2001). The International Who's Who of Women 2002. Psychology Press. p. 473. ISBN 978-1-85743-122-3.
  5. [5]
    "Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy dies at 71". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  6. [6]
    Reidy, Carolyn Kroll (1982). The reader as character in the High Victorian novel: studies of the reader/writer relationship in Vanity Fair, the Way We Live Now, Middlemarch, and the Egoist (Thesis). Indiana University. OCLC 9873587.
  7. [7]
    Pedersen, Erik (May 12, 2020). "Carolyn Reidy Dies: Simon & Schuster President And CEO Was 71". Deadline. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  8. [8]
    "Carolyn Reidy, Simon & Schuster President and CEO, Dies at 71". The Hollywood Reporter. May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  9. [9]
    de León, Concepción (May 12, 2020). "Carolyn Reidy, the Head of Simon & Schuster, Is Dead at 71". New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  10. [10]
    Milliot |, Jim. "S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy Dies of Heart Attack". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  11. [11]
    Kelly, Keith J. (November 19, 2020). "National Book Award wins for 'Interior Chinatown,' Malcolm X bio". Retrieved June 26, 2023.
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