Fred Kerner, editor emeritus of Harlequin Books, died on December 24. He was 90. Kerner was named editorial director of Harlequin’s North American operations in 1975; he took early retirement in 1983 after undergoing heart surgery.

Kerner started his career as a sportswriter at Montreal's The Gazette. He went on to write a number of books (such The Home Emergency Handbook and Stress and Your Heart), before joining Prentice-Hall, as an editor. He also ghost wrote a number of books and served as president of the Canadian Authors Association in the 1980s. He is survived by his daughter Diane (who is v-p of of publishing at Scholastic Canada), two sons, and three grandsons.