We pay tribute to the authors, illustrators, and publishers we have lost this year.
Children’s book publisher Katie Cunningham, known as a visionary editor with a keen eye for new talent who championed inclusivity and representation in the projects she took on, died on July 4 following complications from ovarian cancer. She was 43. Cunningham spent 20 years at Candlewick Press, and this past March was named publisher at Nosy Crow Inc.
Jules Feiffer, author-illustrator, cartoonist, novelist, playwright, satirist, and screenwriter known for a caustic wit that earned him an Academy Award, a Pulitzer Prize, and a place in the Comic Book Hall of Fame, died on January 17, just nine days shy of his 96th birthday, from congestive heart failure. He first made a name for himself in children’s literature with his pen-and-ink illustrations for friend and roommate Norton Juster’s 1961 fantasy The Phantom Tollbooth. He was still very much active, releasing his first graphic novel for children, Amazing Grapes, last fall.
Bookseller and author Joel Fram, founder of beloved pioneering children’s-only shop Eeyore’s Books for Children in Manhattan, died on May 6 from complications following a cancer surgery. He was 81. Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick, a former Eeyore’s staffer, said, “Joel may have named his store after the very sad, self-effacing donkey from Winnie-the-Pooh, but he loved making people smile, and he really did care about everyone who came to Eeyore’s. He showed all of us what dedication and love really look like.”
Esteemed editor, publisher, and author Margaret Frith, retired president and CEO of Putnam Publishing Children’s Group, died on December 11, 2024. She was 88. Nora Cohen, former managing editor of children’s books at Putnam, said, “I will never stop feeling gratitude for her boundless spirit and her leadership, determination, and pure joy in the craft of making gorgeous children’s books.”
Barbara Holdridge, an audiobook industry pioneer who cofounded Caedmon, the first commercially successful label for spoken-word recordings, died on June 9 at age 95. She founded Stemmer House in 1975, which published a number of books for children.
Prolific author and dedicated animal advocate Peg Kehret, known for her suspenseful tales of ordinary kids in dramatic situations, died on December 7, in Bellevue, Wash., at the home of her daughter Anne, where she had been living for several years. She was 89. “Peg was a thoughtful and understanding person, great to work with,” said Roseann Lauer, Kehret’s longtime editor.
Harry Lerner, founder of Lerner Publishing Group, died in Minneapolis on April 8, at the age of 93. In a statement following his death, Lerner Publishing Group said, “His taste, business sense, loyalty, and of course tenacity have touched the lives of young readers, authors, illustrators, family, and friends across the world.”
Japanese American author, actor, and social activist Ken Mochizuki, whose picture book debut, Baseball Saved Us, shone a light on the history of the U.S. government’s Japanese incarceration camps during WWII, died September 20 in Maple Valley, Wash., of esophageal cancer. He was 71. “Ken’s books bravely told stories that needed to be told. His books will serve not only as his legacy, but as a testament to his belief that we can all be the heroes of our own stories,” said Jason Low, publisher and co-owner of Lee & Low Books.
Karen Shapiro, publishing manager of the IP children’s editorial group at Sourcebooks and founding editorial director of its Wonderland imprint, died “suddenly and unexpectedly” of undisclosed causes in January. “Karen truly understood how great stories impact children everywhere, and she inspired everyone in her orbit with her boundless enthusiasm,” said Dominique Raccah, publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks.
Caldecott Medalist Uri Shulevitz, widely celebrated for his distinctive ink and watercolor images that capture a child’s viewpoint, and stories often drawn from his evocative childhood memories, died on February 15, two weeks short of his 90th birthday. Shulevitz created more than 40 books for young people and had completed a new project before his death, The Sky Was My Blanket: A Young Man’s Journey Across Wartime Europe, which was published earlier this month.
Anne Elisabeth (Annabeth) Suter
Swiss-born literary and artists’ agent Annabeth Suter died on February 14 in Bern, Switzerland at age 91. “Oh, how wonderful and dedicated a tour de force she was!” said author-illustrator Peter Sís, her longtime client, in remembrance.
Prolific children’s author Jean Van Leeuwen, known for a broad oeuvre including her beginning-reader stories following the adventures of Oliver Pig and his baby sister Amanda, died on March 3 at age 87. Author-illustrator and longtime friend Marisabina Russo said, "Jean walked through her life with grace and humility and a sense of humor. Her books reflect that."
Paper engineer, designer, and art director Gene Vosough died on July 25 in Baltimore, of cancer. He was 59. “Gene will be remembered as a talented designer and paper engineer, known for his work on the pop-up book Birdscapes, his own line of greeting cards, pop-up books for Blue’s Clues and SpongeBob, and even the concept he created for a line of Cheerios playbooks, and so much more. But he will be remembered by friends most of all for his infectious laugh, generous spirit, and love of Japanese toys,” said Bruce Foster, an editor at Movable Stationery.
Acclaimed illustrator and author Jeanette Winter, a pioneer of picture book biographies and nonfiction, many of which focused on brave women fighting for social justice, died November 7 in New York City of heart and kidney failure. She was 86. “Jeanette was a true activist at heart, and it was one of my great privileges as an editor to be a longstanding part of her incredible bookmaking life,” said Allyn Johnston, VP and publisher of Beach Lane Books, who worked on 26 books with Winter.
