A. David Schwartz, owner of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops in Milwaukee, Wis., died last week from complications from lung cancer, which was first diagnosed a year ago. He was 65 and is survived by his wife, Carol Grossmeyer; his mother, Reva Schwartz; his daughter, Rebecca Schwartz; and his stepson, Jason Niebler.
A leading independent bookseller who was well known and active in the industry, Schwartz won PW's Bookseller of the Year Award this year. Schwartz's general manager, Mary McCarthy, accepted the award on his behalf in a formal presentation at BEA.
Born to a pair of booksellers, David Schwartz took some time to commit himself fully to the family business, which his father, Harry W. Schwartz, founded in 1927. His father's insistence that bookselling was the only "worthy" profession gave his son pause, but apparently many of his father's lessons lasted a long time. Under David Schwartz's leadership, the main constant at Schwartz Bookshops during the past three decades was change. Over time, Schwartz regularly opened and closed stores, began a business book division, merged Schwartz with Dickens Books, owned by Avin Mark Domnitz, now the CEO of the ABA, and seemed to reinvent the company regularly.
The family suggests donations to Community Shares and to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.
