Susan Kamil
1949 - 2019
Editor - Publisher - Mentor
Colleague - Friend
Susan Laurie Kamil
Sam Roberts, Susan Kamil, A Top Editor and Publisher Dies at 69
(New York Times)
Ruth Reichl, I Think You Need to Rewrite It
(New York Times)
Annabelle Woodward, Susan Kamil
(Shelter Island Reporter)
Calvin Reid, Random House Publisher Susan Kamil Dies at 69
(Publishers Weekly)
John Freeman, On The Rare Decency of Susan Kamil
(LitHub)
John Maher, Remembering Susan Kamil
(Publishers Weekly)
Susan Kamil, Longtime Publisher and Editor, Dead at 69
(AP)
John Maher, A Final Farewell to Susan Kamil
(Publishers Weekly)
This video was presented at the conclusion of a memorial tribute for Susan at the Times Center in Manhattan on December 5, 2019.
(a video of the memorial itself will be available here shortly)
Susan Laurie Kamil
Born September 16, 1949
Charles and Sylvia (Etman) Kamil with Susan
Sylvia (Etman) Kamil
November 3, 1917 - October 13, 1963
Charles Kamil
April 8, 1911 - August 27, 2001
Charles Kamil was the son of Abraham and Sarah Kamil, both born in Austria. Abraham was 34, and Sarah 33, at the time of Charles's birth. Abraham was described on Charles's birth certificate as a "working man." At that time, they lived at 88 Attorney Street in Manhattan's lower east side.
During World War II, Charles entered active duty on December 2, 1942 and served in the 338th Infantry, 85th Division, becoming a Platoon Leader and participating in the "Italian Campaign." His decorations and citations included "European African Middle Eastern Theatre Ribbon with two (2) bronze stars and Infantry Combat Badge."
He later worked with his brothers on Stanton Street in the lower east side of Manhattan manufacturing and selling shoe laces under the name A Kamil Tip Shoelace Co.
He is buried in Cedar Park Cemetery, Temple Israel Community Center of Cliffside Park in Bergen County, NJ, Lot No. 33, Front section, Block No. 36, Plot No. 4-Line 1.
Sylvia & Charles
Sylvia's Princess
In 1993, Susan wrote an article for the "Thoughts of Home" feature of House Beautiful magazine (September, 1993) entitled, "The Time-Travel Game," the only writing of her own ever published.
In the article, Susan tells the story of how Sylvia, when moving the family into their new 5th Avenue apartment, sat Susan down in a "tiny child's share upholstered in bright orange silk" and said, "Princess, this is definitely a throne made for you." Hearing her mother's laughter filling the room, Susan thought, "Little Rocketgirl on her orange throne. I give up. I'm home."
The tiny chair, now upholstered in blue, stood in a corner of her bedroom for as long as her husband Bob knew her. Susan once told him that the chair "has always been with me," though he had never known why until he first read the article shortly after her passing. The chair is now on Shelter Island where it will remain with Sylvia's little princess forever.
You can download the article here:
The tiny chair now resides on Shelter Island where Susan was laid to rest.
The article was later memorialized in a book published by Hearst.
Camp Wenonah for Girls
The High School for Music and Art
At The High School for Music and Art (or "Music & Art," now known as the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & the Arts), Susan became an accomplished classical pianist. She went on to take classes at Vassar College and was graduated from George Washington University.
Macmillan
Susan's career in book publishing began at Macmillan in the children’s book division under Janet Schulman.
She once explained to her husband Bob that her skills as an editor and publisher of books were set when she learned how to write advertising copy for the back cover of children's books, summarizing the gist of the book to the buying audience, primarily parents and grandparents.
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
In 1975, Susan joined Harcourt Brace Jovanovich and worked in the subsidiary rights department under publisher Kathy Robbins
TBD, Alan Kellock, Susan, and TBD
A 43-year friendship with Kathy ensued and Susan would come to describe their relationship as "sisters."
In 1977, at the age of 28, Susan visited her brother Neil while he was a sophomore in college living in Cambridge, MA.
Simon & Schuster
In 1979, at the age of 29, Susan became the subsidiary rights director at Simon & Schuster, where she later became a senior editor under Joni Evans.
From Left to right: TBD, TBD, TBD, Susan Kamil, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, and TBD
In 1982, Susan and her brother Neil (far right) traveled to France and toured Burgundy with the author Dominique La Pierre (between Susan and Neil), who drove them around the countryside in his Rolls Royce. Here they were spending the day and dining at a Chateaux. Susan was 32, and Neil was in graduate school, having just begun a Fulbright research year in La Rochelle, France.
Turtle Bay Books
When Simon & Schuster publisher Joni Evans founded the Turtle Bay imprint at Random House in 1991, she tapped Susan to become its executive editor.
After Turtle Bay was shuttered, Joni Evans became head of the literary department at the William Morris Agency. From left to right: Peter Osnos (Random House), Susan Kamil, Norman Brokaw (head of WMA), Joni Evans,
and Nancy Neiman (Warner Books).
The Dial Press
Susan was recruited in 1993 by Carole Baron, Publisher of Dell/Delacorte at Bantam Doubleday Dell, to revive and lead the iconic Dial Press imprint. The story of Carole's hiring Susan was recounted this way in the Shelter Island Reporter:
"When Turtle Bay shuttered, Susan was invited to Shelter Island by friends and fellow publishers Carole and Richard Baron, who then had a house in the Heights. Over lunch at The Shelter Island Yacht Club, the three friends discussed Susan’s next move. It was ultimately decided she would revive the iconic Dial Press, a then-shuttered imprint [owned by Richard Barton prior to its sale to Dell] that had published writers such as Norman Mailer and James Baldwin in the 1960s and 1970s. Under Susan’s leadership, the imprint became a huge success.
"'[Susan] was an extremely special person. It was always about you in a conversation, she was a nurturer...and a good friend,' said Ms. Baron."
Books edited by Susan Kamil
for the authors of The Dial Press
Benjamin Anastas
Marie Arana
Julie Buxbaum
THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE
AFTER YOU
Kyle Beachy
Lauren Belfer
Susan Brownmiller
IN OUR TIME: Memoir of a Revolution
Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason
Nicholas Christopher
Justin Cronin
Lynn Darling
Gavin de Becker
Nina de Gramont
Patrick Dillon
LOST AT SEA: An American Tragedy
Kathy Dobie
Hope Edelman
Monica Ferrell
Masha Gessen
Allegra Goodman
KAATERSKILL FALLS
PARADISE PARK
INTUITION
Bill Gordon
Lisa Grunwald & Stephen J . Adler
Lauren Grodstein
Travis Holland
Carolyn G. Heilbrun
THE EDUCATION OF A WOMAN: The Life of Gloria Steinem
THE LAST GIFT OF TIME: Life Beyond Sixty
Karl Iagnemma
ON THE NATURE OF HUMAN ROMANTIC INTERACTION
Lloyd Jones
HERE AT THE END OF THE WORLD WE LEARN TO DANCE
Joe Klein
Caroline Knapp
Sophie Kinsella
CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC
SHOPAHOLIC TAKES MANHATTAN
Mary Lawson
Stephen Kuusisto
John Lahr
Suzannah Lessard
Reva Mann
Kate Manning
Hisham Matar
Matt McAllester
Patrick McCabe
Elizabeth McCracken
Michael Paterniti
Holly Peterson
Turk Pipkin
Katie Roiphe
UNCOMMON ARRANGEMENTS: Seven Literary Marriages
Bill Roorbach
Jess Row
Patrick Ryan
Lavanya Sankaran
Said Sayrafiezadeh
Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows
THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
David Schickler
Claudia Shear
Andrea Smith
THE SISTERHOOD OF BLACKBERRY CORNER
Lynn Snowden Pickett
Helen Simonson
Scott Snyder
Sting
Renee Swindle
Hannah Tinti
THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY
Jennifer Vanderbes
Sharon Oard Warner
Amine Wefali
Eileen Welsome
Laura Zigman
Sophie Kinsella
Punch helping Grace Coddington edit her memoir at the apartment
(Photo taken by Susan)
With Tom Rachman in Rome while he was writing The Imperfectionists.
Jenny Smith and Jennifer Joel in Central Park.
Susan often said that if she ever had a daughter,
it would be Jenn Joel.
Helen Simonson chats with Susan Kamil
at Southampton Summer Writers Conference, 2010
Patrick Ryan
Hannah Tinti
(Photo by taken by Susan)
Allegra Goodman
(Photo by taken by Susan)
Hisham Matar
(Photo taken by Susan)
Nicholas Christopher
Katie Roiphe
Elizabeth McCracken
Margo Lipschultz, who was Susan's editorial assistant at The Dial Press in 2004
Noah Eaker, Susan's associate editor at The Dial Press at his wedding in Philadephia
In December, 2017, Susan turned over the reins of The Dial Press to a brilliant young editor, Whitney Frick.
Susan described Stuart Applebaum as her "big brother," mentoring her in the early days of Dial Press on how to market and sell the books she was acquiring for the imprint.
Random House
Gina Centrello, head of the Random House Publishing Group, appointed Susan editor-in-chief of the Random House imprint in 2008. Two years later, Susan was promoted to Executive Vice President and Publisher, and was given responsibly for all the Random House-related imprints, which, in September 2019, included Random House, Dial Press, Spiegel & Grau, One World, and Hogarth.
When Susan was appointed editor-in chief of Random House, Susan Moldow had the S&S art department create this parody for Susan (at the expense of Bennett Cerf, who would have laughed).
Kim Witherspoon
Jennifer Joel
Stephanie Cabot
Elyse Cheney
Salmon Rushdie
Elizabeth Strout
Random House
Gina Centrello, head of the Random House Publishing Group, appointed Susan editor-in-chief of the Random House imprint in 2008. Two years later, Susan was promoted to Executive Vice President and Publisher, and was given responsibly for all the Random House-related imprints, which, in September 2019, included Random House, Dial Press, Spiegel & Grau, One World, and Hogarth.
When Susan was appointed editor-in chief of Random House, Susan Moldow had the S&S art department create this parody for Susan (at the expense of Bennett Cerf, who would have laughed).
Kim Witherspoon
Jennifer Joel
Julie Barer
Elyse Cheney
Stephanie Cabot
Irene Skolnick
(Photo by Susan)
Ellen Levine
Victoria Skurnick
Maria Campbell
Andrew Wylie
Esther Newberg
John Freeman & Nicole Aragi
Susan Golumb
Zoe Pagnamenta
Flip Brophy
Kathy, Susan, and a bottle of wine
Salmon Rushdie
Elizabeth Strout
Ruth Reichl
Rick Simonson of Elliot Bay
& Chef Gabrielle Hamilton
Little Failure
"Bud"
Robert K. Massey III
1929 - 2019
Paul Harding
Michael Cunningham
Jenn Joel & Graham Moore
(Photo taken by Susan)
Susan Rieger
(Photo taken by Susan)
Gina Centrello
& Stuart Applebaum
(Photo by taken by Susan)
Andy Ward
(Photo taken by Susan)
Tom Perry, Susan Kamil & Andy Ward
Susan didn't know it, but (look carefully) she took a selfie!
Left: Araminta Whitley, Deb Aroff, Sophie Kinsella, TBD
Right: Susan, Kim Witherspoon, Avideh Bashirad
Bill Takes & Gina Centrello working hard on the numbers
(Photo taken by Susan)
Sam Nicholson, David Ebershoff, Andy Ward
(Photo taken by Susan)
TBD, Susan, TBD, Liz Strout, Molly Friedrich, Ruth Liebman
Susan, Ruth, TBD, and Theresa Zoro
Shteyngart Warby Parker Event
Barbara Fillon, Jessica Bonet, Maria Braeckel,
Susan, Clio Seraphim, Melissa Sanford, Anna Belle Hindenlang
Ruth Reichl, Gary Hoenig (and Betsy Carter), Kathy Robbins, Woody Campbell, Richard Cohen & Susan at one of the many dinner parties cooked and served
by Chef Robert Kohn
Susan accepting award from Bronx Academy of Letters
March 4, 2015
Susan at Library of Congress Tribute to Denis Johnson
March 28, 2018
Celebrating the wedding of Betsy & Gary.
Left to Right: TBD, TBD, Susan Moldow, Susan Kamil, TBD, David Alshiller, Betsy Carter, Gary Heonig, TBD, Ron Rosenstein, Stuart Applebaum, Lisa GRunwald, Bill Shinker, Stephen J. Adler.
Celebrating Kathy's ___ Birthday
Left to Right: Joe & Victoria Klein, TBD, Susan Kamil, Kathy Robbins, Guy Cohen, TBD, Richard Cohen, Mary Cohen, David Richenthal, TBD
Kathy & Richard
Bill Shinker & Susan Moldow
Celebrating New Year's Eve
with Bill Shinker & Susan Moldow at Roy's
Bill Shinker & Victoria Skirnick
at Richard Baron's 90th Birthday Celebration
Judyth Vanameringe in at her cabin in Maine
Frank Rose and Beth Rashbaum on the Shelter Island Ferry
Pam Bernstein
one week before Susan's 41st Birthday
Pam & Susan
Singing at Pam's in Sagaponack in 2013
George Friedman & Pam Bernstein
Pam & Susan Singing Part II
Andy Bernstein and Carole Baron Arriving
Frank Newbold, Susan, and Stephen Drucker
Susan & Friends
Celebrating the marriage of Betsy Carter & Gary Hoenig at The National in Brighton Beach in February, 1991.
Seated from left to right: Lynn Paltrow, Sarah Krulwich, Susan Moldow, Susan Kamil, David Altshiller, Jean Seligman, Alfred Gingold, and Bill Shinker.
Standing left to right: Betsy Carter, Gary Heonig, Ron Rosenbaum, Lisa Grunwald, and Stephen J. Adler.
Kathy Robbins & Richard Cohen's Wedding
Back row: Joe & Victoria Klein, Susan Tifft, Kathy, Toby Cohen, Richard, Mary Cohen, and Alex Jones.
Front row: Susan Kamil, the Judge, David Richenthal.
(Photo taken by Guy Cohen).
Kathy & Richard
Bill Shinker & Susan Moldow
Celebrating New Year's Eve
with Bill Shinker & Susan Moldow at Roy's
Bill Shinker & Victoria Skirnick
at Richard Baron's 90th Birthday Celebration
Judyth Vanamringe at her cabin in Maine
Frank Rose and Beth Rashbaum on the Shelter Island Ferry
Pam Bernstein
one week before Susan's 41st Birthday
Pam & Susan
Singing at Pam's in Sagaponack in 2013
George Friedman & Pam Bernstein
Pam & Susan Singing Part II
Andy Bernstein and Carole Baron Arriving
Frank Newbold, Susan, and Stephen Drucker
Susan and Stephen
Kim Witherspoon with Paul and Summer, Erico (our pilates instructor) & John, and Bob at Sunset Beach, Shelter Island
Richard & Carole Baron, Sara Nelson & Sam Radin at the Shelter Island Yacht Club
Susan and Spenser Lee
Spenser Lee & Maggie Richards
Susan, Richard Cohen, Maria Campbell, Bob, and Kathy Robbins at Quatorze, our favorite hangout
(photo by Woody Campbell)
Betsy & Ivy Pochoda
(Photo taken by Susan at Judyth's cabin in Maine)
Life with Bobby
Susan met Bob Kohn on October 28, 2006 when Joni Evans asked Bob to drive Susan up to Joni's home in Pound Ridge, NY to attend a dinner party.
Bob asked Susan to marry him under the Eiffel Tower during their trip to Paris in August, 2010. Moments after he proposed, a person in a gorilla suit walked up and surprised them with a photo-op. Bob obliged. The couple picked up their marriage license at the Municipal Court in Beverly Hills and were married the next day, May 28, 2011, at Bob's brother Matt's home in Santa Monica.
For Bob's birthday in 2007 Susan bought him a Tiffany key-ring with a charm engraved with the words "Entrepreneur" on one side and "Smartypants" on the other. This video was taken Christmas morning that year when Susan opened her gift from Bob: a Tiffany key ring with a charm engraved with he words "Publisher" on one side and "Sweetface" on the other.
Among the last books Susan edited was Bob's self-published novel, not her cup of tea, but she was proud of him for taking up her challenge.
Susan & Shelter Island
Susan had been going to Shelter Island for 30 years, staying with Carole & Richard Baron. Several years ago, I was driving out to the island mid-week to spend a couple of days with Richard before Susan and Carole came out that Friday on the Jitney. On my way out, Susan suggested I find a place to rent in August, which did: a cute little cottage on West Neck Creek.
After renting a house for four years, Susan and Bob purchased a cottage on the beach on Ram Island. They lived in it for a year before commencing a gut renovation. When it was done, Susan called the place "heaven." Susan was laid to rest in the Shelter Island Cemetery.
Evan Myles Kamil
Born August 24, 1952
Since Susan’s passing, many have asked how they might honor her memory with a contribution appropriate and relevant to her.
Outside of working with her cherished authors and colleagues, and making a life with husband Bob Kohn, Susan cared for her younger brother Evan, who has had a life-long learning disability, and now suffers from Parkinson’s disease. Throughout her career Susan was unwavering in her attention to his needs.
So that Susan's responsibility to him may be fulfilled, we invite you to share her commitment with a contribution to:
Evan Kamil Supplemental Needs Fund, LLC
P.O. Box 581
Shelter Island, N,Y. 11964
or use
Neil Kamil
Born December 7, 1954
Betty Henry
The Family's Nanny
October 1, 1912 - September 8, 1989
Betty had been with Susan since she was one-year old and took care of the three children after Sylvia's death. Shortly after Betty passed away, Susan traveled in Ireland to visit Betty's home town. Ever since, when Susan entered a church, she always lit a candle for her nanny.
Susan & Her Pets
Emily
Susan with unidentified kittie
Judyth Vanamringe & Duke
Susan & Duke
Susan & Daisy
Susan & Her Pets
Emily
Susan with unidentified kittie
Susan & Duke
Susan & Daisy
Judyth Vanamringe & Duke
Punch with Susan & Katie Kohn
on Christmas Day 2010
Punch helping Bob's father Al Kohn to read
about Tin Pan Alley - December, 2010
Pip & Bea arrived in September 2013
They are Punch's great, great grandchildren!
Cute and hysterical video of Pip & Bea
playing in bed.
Susan at rest,
surrounded by love and great affection.
Contact Us
If you have any photos to add, corrections to suggest, or additions to contribute, to this site, please write to Bob Kohn using the form below and he'll get back to you shortly. Thank you!