Creating Pictures In The Mind: Nan A. Talese

Nan A. Talese/Doubleday is a literary imprint committed to quality publishing, both in the excellence of its authors and the quality of the production of its books.

Established in 1990, it is distinguished both by new authors of fiction and nonfiction, as well as the authors The imprint is headed by Nan A. Talese as senior vice president. For many years, Nan has published writers who have been staunchly supported by independent booksellers (and more recently Barnes & Noble and Borders) and reviewers. Among its writers are Peter Ackroyd, Margaret Atwood, Pinckney Benedict, Thomas Cahill, Kevin Canty, Lorene Cary, Pat Conroy, Jennifer Egan, Mia Farrow, Antonia Fraser, David Grand, Nicola Griffith, Aleksandar Hemon, Thomas Keneally, Alex Kotlowitz, Robert MacNeil, Ian McEwan, Gita Mehta, George Plimpton, Edvard Radzinsky, Mark Richard, Nicholas Shakespeare, Barry Unsworth, and Gus Van Sant. Nan Talese is a Senior Vice President of Doubleday and the Publisher and Editorial Director of Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, a trade book publishing imprint known for its literary excellence.

Having begun her publishing career at Random House, she subsequently joined Simon & Schuster as an editor, beginning her long editorial relationships with such authors as Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan, Barry Unsworth and Thomas Keneally, all winners of the prestigious Booker Prize.

It was at Houghton Mifflin, which she joined in 1981 as Executive Editor, eventually becoming Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, that she began her association with Pat Conroy as editor of his novel, The Prince of Tides.

She joined Doubleday as Senior Vice President in 1988, and two years later introduced her author-oriented imprint dedicated to the publication of a select list of quality fiction and nonfiction. The critically acclaimed and bestselling titles she has published since the imprint’s inception include There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlotwitz; Beach Music and My Losing Season by Pat Conroy; Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood; Amsterdam, Atonement, and Saturday by Ian McEwan; How the Irish Saved Civilization, The Gifts of the Jews, Desire of the Everlasting Hills, and Sailing the Wine Dark Sea by Thomas Cahill; Songs of the Kings by Barry Unsworth; Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser; Shakespeare: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd, as well as the works of George Plimpton, Mark Richard, Robert MacNeil, Peter Ackroyd, Kevin Canty, Jennifer Egan, and Adam Haslett, among others.

Mrs. Talese is married to author Gay Talese, whose latest book A Writer’s Life was published by Knopf in April 2007. They have two daughters: Pamela, a painter, and Catherine, a photographer.

–Doris Booth

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