Margaret K. McElderry died at the age of 98 this week. Legendary is a word that comes up a lot when her name is mentioned; she edited many children's books that became winners of Caldecott and Newbury medals (one memorable year her books won both awards), and she created her own imprint, Margaret K. McEderry Books, now at Simon & Schuster. But she did not, as this morning's New York Times obituary said, "exactly glide to success." She was told as a senior at Mount Holyoke that she had nothing to offer the publishing industry, and in 1971 she was told by her boss at Harcourt: "The wave of the future has passed you by." After being told this she went on to work and win awards for over thirty more years in publishing.
Margaret published and edited four of my children's books and was not only a brilliant editor and made each book far better than I ever dreamed it could be, but she was also an amazing friend to her writers. I loved working with her and loved our lunches together in New York. Once in LA when she was visiting I got seriously lost and in an absolute panic driving her around Beverly Hills trying to find our restaurant (OMG I've got Margaret McElderry in the car and I'm lost). We ended up laughing about it every time we got together. She might have been a legend in publishing but she was also warm and funny and kind, and so much fun to be with. Remembering Margaret working with such energy and enthusiasm into her nineties will inspire me for the rest of my life.
Thank you for sharing your warm memories of this wonderful lady. What an inspiration she is to the rest of us, finding out how she rose to success in spite of discouraging remarks from such influential institutions. Bravo!
Posted by: D | February 17, 2011 at 05:58 AM
What a beautiful tribute to a remarkable woman. Thank you for sharing intimate moments. -- and about that comment"Glide to success." Obviously the obit writer did not have the privilege of knowing her -- cutting and pasting does not a true portrait make. Have a wonderful day. Loren
Posted by: Loren Stephens | February 17, 2011 at 07:59 AM
This is amazing, powerful and inspiring! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Tess The Bold LIfe | February 17, 2011 at 08:17 AM
Thanks for your comments D., Loren and Tess. I'm glad you were inspired to by Margaret's story -
Posted by: Barbara | February 19, 2011 at 02:14 PM
Thanks for your research on academic knowledge.
Thank you for your sharing!
Posted by: College Essay Writing | March 17, 2011 at 12:45 PM
I really enjoyed this beautiful article. This is the same article, what i was searching for.
Posted by: Business Logo Designers | June 21, 2012 at 01:48 AM