Robert Weil (editor)

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Robert Weil is an Executive Editor and Vice President of the publishing imprint W. W. Norton / Liveright. [1] From 2011 to 2022 he was the Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of Liveright, succeeded by Peter J. Simon in July, 2022.

Contents

Early life and career

Weil graduated from Yale College with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1977. He originally considered teaching high school before beginning his publishing career with Times Books in 1978 as an Editorial Assistant. [2] In 1980 he moved to the former Omni Magazine . At Omni he introduced a book division, packaging and agenting science books to publishers before becoming Senior Editor at St. Martin's Press in 1988, a division of Macmillan Publishers. [3] Weil's acquisitions at St. Martin's included Michael Wallis's Route 66, Henry Roth's tetralogy of novels called The Mercy of a Rude Stream, Oliver Stone's autobiographical novel A Child's Night Dream, and John Bayley's Elegy for Iris. [4]

W.W. Norton & Company / Liveright Publishing

In 1998, Weil moved to W.W. Norton & Company as an Executive Editor. [5] His acquisition of most of the Patricia Highsmith backlist, which included several new volumes, in 1999, helped launch the Highsmith renaissance in the U.S. and the 2015 film Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, based on the novel The Price of Salt , as well as Highsmith's diaries, published in 2021. [6] Weil also worked for several years with Paul McCartney (and Paul Muldoon [7] ) on the editing of McCartney's book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, published in 2021. [8]

In 2011, Weil was named the Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of Liveright Publishing Corporation. [9] Per a 2021 profile in Publishers Weekly , "The relaunched imprint released its first books in 2012. It started with two full-time staffers and a list of about 20 books per year, and has grown to eight staffers and about 40 books annually." [10] During Weil's tenure as Editor-in-Chief, Liveright received four Pulitzer Prizes (among nine finalists) [11] as well as a National Book Award (among eight nominees). [12] The current staff of Liveright includes Peter J. Simon, Peter Miller, Gina Iaquinta, Nick Curley, Haley Bracken, Clio Hamilton, Fanta Diallo, Maria Connors, and Luke Swann.

Additional work

Beyond editing, Weil frequently lectures on writing, publishing history, and the state of American culture and literature. He has spoken in Munich, Guadalajara, Miami, Chicago, and at Yale University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Nebraska, among others. He has also written on books and publishing for various publications including The Washington Post and ArtForum.

Selected authors edited by Robert Weil

Selected works edited by Robert Weil

YearTitleAuthorAccolades
1996From Bondage (Mercy of a Rude Stream, Vol. 3) Henry Roth Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
1997 The Smell of Apples: A Novel Mark Behr Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction
1998All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery Henry Mayer Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
1999 The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White Henry Wiencek National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
1999 Elegy for Iris John Bayley New York Times Bestseller
Basis for Iris (2001 film)
2000 Darkness in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon Patrick TierneyFinalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
2003Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales Nelson Mandela (Editor) NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children
2005 Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism Geoffrey R. Stone Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History
2008 The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family Annette Gordon-Reed Pulitzer Prize for History
National Book Award for Nonfiction
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
2008 The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British Sarah Lyall New York Times Bestseller
2009 Stitches: A Memoir David Small Finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature
New York Times Bestseller
2009 The Book of Genesis Robert Crumb New York Times Bestseller
2009Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression Morris Dickstein Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism
2010Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits Linda Gordon Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History
The Bancroft Prize
2010Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American HistoryYunte HuangFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography)
Edgar Award (Critical/Biographical)
California Book Award (Nonfiction)
2012Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece Michael Gorra Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
2012 The Social Conquest of Earth Edward O. Wilson New York Times Bestseller
New York Times Notable Book
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction
2012 Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story Jim Holt New York Times Bestseller
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
2013Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures, and Innovations Mary Beard Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism
2013Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present Max Boot New York Times Bestseller
2013Karl Marx: A Nineteenth-Century Life Jonathan Sperber Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography
2013 Letters to a Young Scientist Edward O. Wilson New York Times Bestseller
2014 Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade Walter Kirn New York Times Bestseller
2014The Last Kind Words Saloon: A Novel Larry McMurtry New York Times Bestseller
2014The Meaning of Human Existence Edward O. Wilson New York Times Bestseller
Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
2014Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time Ira Katznelson The Bancroft Prize
2015The Complete Works of Primo Levi Primo Levi, translated by Ann Goldstein New York Times Notable Book
2015 SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Mary Beard New York Times Bestseller
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
2015Words Without Music: A Memoir Philip Glass New York Times Bestseller
2016Cousin Joseph: A Graphic Novel Jules Feiffer New York Times Bestseller
2016’’Most Blessed of the Patriarchs’’: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf New York Times Bestseller
2016New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America Wendy Warren Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for History
New York Times Notable Book
2016Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life Ruth Franklin National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography
Edgar Award (Critical/Biographical)
Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction
New York Times Notable Book
2016Jerusalem Alan Moore New York Times Bestseller
2017The Annotated African American Folktales Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Maria Tatar NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
2017 The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Richard Rothstein Longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
New York Times Bestseller
New York Times Notable Book
Winner of the Hillman Prize
2017The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea Jack E. Davis Pulitzer Prize for History
Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
New York Times Notable Book
2018The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam Max Boot Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
2018 These Truths: A History of the United States Jill Lepore New York Times Bestseller
2018 We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights Adam Winkler Shortlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
New York Times Notable Book
2018The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela NPR Best Books of 2018
2019Audience of One: Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America James Poniewozik New York Times Notable Book
2019Inseparable: The Original Siamese Twins and Their Rendezvous with American HistoryYunte Huang
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
2019 Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future Pete Buttigieg New York Times Bestseller
2020Afropessimism Frank B. Wilderson III Longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
2020 The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X Les Payne and Tamara Payne National Book Award for Nonfiction
Pulitzer Prize for Biography
New York Times Notable Book
2020If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future Jill Lepore Longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
2020The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War Michael Gorra New York Times Notable Book
2020 Trust: America's Best Chance Pete Buttigieg New York Times Bestseller
2021On Juneteenth Annette Gordon-Reed New York Times Bestseller
New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year
New York Times Critics Best Books of 2021
2021Pessoa: A Biography Richard Zenith New York Times Critics Best Books of 2021
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
2021 The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present Paul McCartney New York Times Bestseller
Barnes & Noble Book of the Year
2023 1964: Eyes of the Storm Paul McCartney New York Times Bestseller
2023Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World Mary Beard New York Times Bestseller
2023Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American HistoryYunte Huang New York Times Notable Book
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
2024Reagan: His Life and LegendMax Boot New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year
New York Times Bestseller
2025We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution Jill Lepore New York Times Bestseller

References

  1. ↑ ""Norton Revives Liveright Imprint." Poets and Writers". September 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  2. ↑ ""Robert Weil and the Music of Editing." PW" . Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  3. ↑ ""Robert Weil and the Music of Editing." PW" . Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Heyman Center" . Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Irene Lacher. "The Sunday Conversation: Robert Weil." Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  6. ↑ "How Anna von Planta edited Patricia Highsmith's new diaries - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times . 11 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "David Sedaris's Diaries and Paul McCartney's Songs". The New York Times. 24 December 2021.
  8. ↑ "Paul McCartney Doesn't Really Want to Stop the Show". The New Yorker . 8 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "Emily Witt. "Robert Weil and Star Lawrence Discuss Changes at Norton." The New York Observer". The New York Observer . 7 July 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  10. ↑ "For Liveright, Good Editing is Good Business".
  11. ↑ "Pulitzer Prize | History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica".
  12. ↑ "National Book Awards 2021".
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