Longtime Penguin publicity director Maureen Donnelly passed away on June 30, after a brief battle with breast cancer. She was 59.
A veteran of the industry, Donnelly held positions at Simon & Schuster and New American Library. She was most recently v-p and director of publicity for Penguin Books.
President of Penguin Group U.S., Susan Petersen Kennedy, said: "Maureen’s death is an incredible loss to all who knew her as a beloved friend and colleague during her 40 years in book publishing, 34 of them at Penguin. She was a kind, generous, and gentle person, a mentor to many, and an inspiration to everyone she worked with inside, and outside, the company. Her irreverent sense of humor, unfailing optimism, and her devotion to co-workers, authors, and to Penguin were second to none. It was an honor to be her friend and colleague, and we are better people for having known her.”
A funeral mass will be held at the St. Joseph the Carpenter Church, at 140 E. 3rd Avenue, Roselle, NJ 07203, on Thursday, July 3, at 10:00 am.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the time and location of the funeral service.
