Janet Schulman

Janet Schulman (16 September 1933 – 11 February 2011)[1] was an author of children's books and editor, first at Macmillan Publishers, then at Random House. Schulman was the editor for authors such as Dr. Seuss and Virginia Hamilton and was responsible for the marketing behind Watership Down.

Career

Schulman began working for Macmillan Publishers in 1959, when she moved to New York City. She had worked before in advertisement in New Orleans and was hired for a position in Macmillan's advertising department. She worked on all of the publisher's divisions, until she was asked to help rewrite one of C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia books, at which point she decided to focus on children's books. She was behind one of the first paperback publishing programs focused on children's literature, and was responsible for the marketing of Watership Down, which marked the first time a novel for children appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.[2]

In 1974, she was one of the 185 people let go that year in a mass firing to downsize the company.[3] Schulman, alongside eight other women, filed a class-action complaint against their employer for sexism.[4] In an interview, Schulman said about her firing: "I have maintained all along that I was fired because of my activities helping to form and acting as co-chair of the women's group in the company"[2]

After that, Schulman went to work at Random House during the 1980s and 1990s,[3][5] where she was the editor responsible for authors such as Dr. Seuss and Virginia Hamilton,[4] and acted as director of children's book marketing, editor-in-chief and publisher of several of Random House's imprints.[2]

In 1984, Schulman helped Random House create a new paperback line focused on beginner readers, which was the first to have on the covers of the books an indication of the reading level expected of the reader.[6]

In 1994 she resigned from her positions at Random House and began working as VP-at-large.[2]

Death

Schulman died on 11 February 2011, in New York City. She was 77 years old.[7]

Selected works
  • Schulman, Janet (1999). Felix Salten's Bambi (1st ed.). New York. ISBN 9780689819544.
  • Schulman, Janet (2002). Countdown to Spring: An Animal Counting Book. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780375813641.
  • Schulman, Janet (2003). A Bunny for All Seasons (1st ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780375822568.

References
  1. Krull, K. (2011). "Two Legends". The Horn Book Magazine. 87 (3): 128–129.
  2. Schulman, Janet (1 October 2001). "Making the Transition: Six Children's Publishers on Stepping Down" (Interview). Interviewed by Sally Lodge. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  3. "Looking Back: The 1974 Macmillan Massacre". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  4. "Obituaries: Janet Schulman". The Horn Book Magazine. Boston. 87 (3): 127. May–June 2011.
  5. "From the Archives: Theodor Geisel dies at 87; wrote 47 Dr. Seuss books". Los Angeles Times. 26 September 1991. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  6. Maughan, Shannon (2000). "Readers for Early Readers". Publishers Weekly. 247 (21): 40.
  7. "Remembering Janet Schulman". Publishers Weekly. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
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