Michael Korda: Resigning as Editor in Chief of Simon & Schuster
Michael V. Korda will step down at the end of the year as editor in chief of Simon & Schuster's trade books imprint, a post he has held since 1968, the company said yesterday. He will remain as editor in chief emeritus, editing the books of about a half dozen writers, including David McCullough, Larry McMurtry and Mary Higgins Clark.
Mr. Korda, 72, is working on a biography of Eisenhower and a history of the Battle of Britain. He and his wife, Margaret, are the co-authors of "Cat People," an examination of cat owners' infatuation with their pets, and "Horse Housekeeping: Everything You Need to Know to Keep a Horse at Home," both published by HarperCollins. He also wrote "Another Life: A Memoir of Other People," about his publishing career (Random House, 1999) and "Country Matters: The Pleasures and Tribulations of Moving From a Big City to an Old Country Farmhouse," (HarperCollins, 2001), as well as several novels.
The decision to step away "is entirely my own decision," Mr. Korda said. "It is bittersweet." Jack Romanos, the president and chief executive of Simon & Schuster, and Carolyn Reidy, the president of the company's adult publishing group, said in a joint letter to the company's staff that Mr. Korda's list of authors "could very well form the basis for its own thriving publishing house."
Mr. Korda joined Simon & Schuster as an editor in 1958 and became editor in chief 10 years later. The authors he has edited include former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard M. Nixon as well as Henry A. Kissinger, Charles de Gaulle and Leonid I. Brezhnev. His authors have won four Pulitzer Prizes and two National Book Awards. In September, books he edited were ranked No. 1 on both the New York Times fiction ("Chill Factor," by Sandra Brown) and nonfiction ("1776," by Mr. McCullough) hardcover best-seller lists.
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Mr. Korda, 72, is working on a biography of Eisenhower and a history of the Battle of Britain. He and his wife, Margaret, are the co-authors of "Cat People," an examination of cat owners' infatuation with their pets, and "Horse Housekeeping: Everything You Need to Know to Keep a Horse at Home," both published by HarperCollins. He also wrote "Another Life: A Memoir of Other People," about his publishing career (Random House, 1999) and "Country Matters: The Pleasures and Tribulations of Moving From a Big City to an Old Country Farmhouse," (HarperCollins, 2001), as well as several novels.
The decision to step away "is entirely my own decision," Mr. Korda said. "It is bittersweet." Jack Romanos, the president and chief executive of Simon & Schuster, and Carolyn Reidy, the president of the company's adult publishing group, said in a joint letter to the company's staff that Mr. Korda's list of authors "could very well form the basis for its own thriving publishing house."
Mr. Korda joined Simon & Schuster as an editor in 1958 and became editor in chief 10 years later. The authors he has edited include former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard M. Nixon as well as Henry A. Kissinger, Charles de Gaulle and Leonid I. Brezhnev. His authors have won four Pulitzer Prizes and two National Book Awards. In September, books he edited were ranked No. 1 on both the New York Times fiction ("Chill Factor," by Sandra Brown) and nonfiction ("1776," by Mr. McCullough) hardcover best-seller lists.