Carolyn Reidy

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

Carolyn Reidy
Born2 May 1949 Edit this on Wikidata
Died12 May 2020 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 71)
Southampton Edit this on Wikidata
EducationDoctor of Philosophy Edit this on Wikidata
Alma mater
OccupationChief executive officer (2008–2020), publisher (–1992) Edit this on Wikidata
Employer

While chief executive, 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.[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 is 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. "Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy dies at 71, company says". AP NEWS. May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  2. Maher, John (January 16, 2018). "Stephen King, Carolyn Reidy to Be Honored at PEN Gala". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  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. Elizabeth Sleeman (2001). The International Who's Who of Women 2002. Psychology Press. p. 473. ISBN 978-1-85743-122-3.
  5. "Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy dies at 71". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  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. Pedersen, Erik (May 12, 2020). "Carolyn Reidy Dies: Simon & Schuster President And CEO Was 71". Deadline. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  8. "Carolyn Reidy, Simon & Schuster President and CEO, Dies at 71". The Hollywood Reporter. May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  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. Milliot |, Jim. "S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy Dies of Heart Attack". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  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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