Maureen O’Brien, who worked as an editor at Publishers Weekly from 1987 to 1996, died on April 12, from complications from a blood infection. She was 67.
O’Brien joined PW as assistant editor for trade news and bookselling after beginning her career at the Los Angeles Times. While at PW, she was named associate bookselling editor and then promoted to associate news editor, in which role she inaugurated the Hot Deals column—now known simply as Deals—as well as a column for publishing party coverage, called Bookends.
After a short stint at the New York Post, where she launched the “Media Ink” column, O’Brien moved to Hyperion, where she served as executive editor for five years before joining HarperCollins. There, she helped spearhead the HarperEntertainment imprint before colaunching the company’s global creative development group in 2007, where she worked with Hollywood studios and talent agencies to develop worldwide book and multimedia opportunities. Over the years, O’Brien edited works by such authors as Gladys Knight, Malachy McCourt, Alanis Morissette, Tatum O'Neal, and Liz Smith.
O’Brien left HarperCollins in 2008 to help launch a website devoted to the achievements of women, whose cofounders included editor and publisher Joni Evans. She then embarked on a career as a freelance editor and ghostwriter.
At PW, her colleagues remember her as a force of nature who loved nothing more than chasing a good story.
