Obituary: Leona Nevler
From PW:
After more than 50 years in the publishing industry, Leona Nevler passed away suddenly Dec. 10. She was 79. Nevler, who was a senior editor at Penguin Group, held posts at Little, Brown and Lippincott before landing at Fawcett Books where she would go on to publish a book that would inspire a cultural phenomonen, Grace Metalious's Peyton Place. On the heels of the success of Metalious's book, Nevler was named publisher of Fawcett World Library in 1974, becoming one of the first women to head up a major house.After her tenure at Fawcett, Nevler moved to Ballantine and then Berkley Books before landing at Penguin. Having worked with both literary luminaries and major bestsellers alike—the lengthy list includes John Updike, Faye Kellerman, Amy Tan, Charles M. Schultz and James A. Michener—Nevler was known for her ability to discover new talent and to work with established authors. As Penguin Group president Susan Petersen Kennedy said of the late editor: "She had great taste. She had great persistence. She had great honor and she published a list of great writers."
A memorial service for Nevler is schedule for Tuesday, December 13 at 1:30 p.m. at Frank E. Campbell, Madison Ave. at 81st in New York City.
The New York Times:
NEVLER-Leona. On December 10, 2005. Suddenly, she left a love that was spread through a family and beyond. She was the dear mother of Ellen and Michael Silberman and their spouses Brian Baron and Emily Eldridge, and devoted grandmother of Sophie, Eli, Ethan and Jacob. With the same gentleness and understanding with which she guided the young of her family, she helped writers become authors over her 50 years as one of the first women in publishing. Smart and elegant, she loved good food, stylish clothes and a good turn of phrase. Generous (to a fault) to her family, she is deeply missed by her sister Alberta N. Grossman, brother-in-law Lawrence K. Grossman, nieces Susan Grossman, Jenny Peltz and Caroline Grossman, and their husbands, Sanford Cohen, Andrew Peltz and Andrew Greene, and her six grandnieces and nephews: Rebecca, Ben, Hilary, Allyson, Sarah and Jeremy. Service Tuesday, December 13, 1:30 pm, at Frank E. Campbell, Madison Ave at 81st St.
Published in the New York Times on 12/12/2005.
Also, GalleyCat has a piece about Leona.