Longtime editor and publishing executive Charlie Conrad died on November 21 from complications of ALS. He was 61.
Conrad attended the Denver Publishing Institute before beginning his publishing career working in mass market publishing for NAL and Warner Books. He was noted for backlist acquisitions, including landing the paperback rights to such titles as The Hot Zone by Richard Preston and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. He also worked on such titles as Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale, which were later turned into blockbuster movies.
Conrad was noted for acquiring a list of acclaimed nonfiction authors among them Frances Mayes and Jon Krakauer. Over the course of his career he worked at Doubleday, Broadway, Crown, and Penguin and acquired works in travel, memoir, biography, and history.
A memorial service for Conrad will be held in the spring of 2022 with further details to come. Donations in Conrad’s memory can be made to the scholarship established in his name through the Montclair Scholarship Fund (montclairscholarshipfund.org).
