Carolyn Reidy

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

Middlebury College
Indiana University

OccupationChief executive officer (2008–2020), publisher (–1992)

Employer

Simon & Schuster

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.

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 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 [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, 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

^ ^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.