JOHN A. WARE

WARE--John A., 71, of New York City, died on April 27, 2013 of complications related to leukemia. He was president of John A. Ware Literary Agency in New York City. A native of Manhattan, he attended Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, obtained a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Cornell University (where he also sang in a blues band), and pursued graduate study in literature at Northwestern University. He launched his literary agency in 1978 after working as an agent at Curtis Brown, preceded by eight years as an editor at Doubleday, where he was first to publish Tracy Kidder. His agenting interests included investigative journalism, current affairs, history, biography, fiction, and the offbeat. Books and authors he represented include the bestsellers Into the Wild and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, The Ice Master by Jennifer Niven, and works by bestselling historian Stephen E. Ambrose, Caroline Fraser, Jack Womack, and Tony Daniel, among many others. He was known for his unswerving sense of fairness, his abiding interest in humanitarian issues and civil rights, and his infectious sense of humor. A lover of language, baseball, music, New York, the rugged independence of the boutique literary agent, his volunteer work as a student mentor, soft-shell crabs in season, and the occasional afternoon at the races, he will be missed by all who counted him colleague, family, and friend. He is survived by his sister Ellen W. Cowen, his nephew Jeff A. Cowen, and his niece Jane C. Hamilton. Donations may be sent to the New York Philharmonic, the Police Athletic League, or City Harvest.