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.
Carolyn Reidy | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 2 May 1949  |
| Died | 12 May 2020 (aged 71) Southampton |
| Education | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Chief executive officer (2008–2020), publisher (–1992) |
| Employer | |
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
editCarolyn 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 Bloomington for graduate studies, where she earned a master of arts in 1974 and 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.[6]
Career
editReidy 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
editIn 1974, she married Stephen Reidy before joining Random House.[4]
Carolyn Reidy died of a heart attack in Southampton, New York, 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
edit- ^ a b c "Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy dies at 71, company says". AP NEWS. May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ Maher, John (January 16, 2018). "Stephen King, Carolyn Reidy to Be Honored at PEN Gala". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e 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.
- ^ a b c Elizabeth Sleeman (2001). The International Who's Who of Women 2002. Psychology Press. p. 473. ISBN 978-1-85743-122-3.
- ^ "Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy dies at 71". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Pedersen, Erik (May 12, 2020). "Carolyn Reidy Dies: Simon & Schuster President And CEO Was 71". Deadline. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ "Carolyn Reidy, Simon & Schuster President and CEO, Dies at 71". The Hollywood Reporter. May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ de León, Concepción (May 12, 2020). "Carolyn Reidy, the Head of Simon & Schuster, Is Dead at 71". New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ^ Milliot |, Jim. "S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy Dies of Heart Attack". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ Kelly, Keith J. (November 19, 2020). "National Book Award wins for 'Interior Chinatown,' Malcolm X bio". Retrieved June 26, 2023.