Literary agent and former sales executive Carole Bidnick died on December 2 in Berkeley, Calif. She was 76 years old. The cause was brain cancer, her client Dianne Jacob said.
Bidnick’s career began in 1975 working in the sales department of Holt Rinehart & Winston, soon becoming the publisher’s sales representative for New York and Pennsylvania. In the early 80’s, she joined Charles Scribner’s & Sons as regional sales manager, also working in the Northeast.
In 1986, David Cohen and Rick Smolan, founders of the A Day in the Life photo book series, poached Bidnick to serve as director of sales for their new company. Enormous success followed, with A Day in the Life of America becoming a #1 New York Times bestseller. The book sold over 1 million copies and remained on the list for a year. In late 1987, Bidnick and the company moved to San Francisco, which became her home for the next 38 years.
In 2000, Bidnick launched her own literary agency, Bidnick & Company, and represented a list of authors in the cookbook, health, and wellness spaces. Her clients included Dean Karnazes, whose book Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner became a New York Times bestseller. As an agent, she inked deals with such publishers as Rodale, Ten Speed Press and Chronicle Books.
She is survived by sister Helen Kevrick, and was predeceased by her sisters Eve Shopsin and Sheilah Katz.
Donations in Bidnick’s memory may be made to Planned Parenthood and the Alameda County Community Food Bank or your local food banks.
