RICHARD KRINSLEY

KRINSLEY--Richard,

86, died peacefully, surrounded by family, on July 28 after a brief illness following a one year bout with multiple myeloma. Mr. Krinsley's influential publishing career began at Simon & Schuster's Golden Books as an assistant salesman in the Chicago region. He was subsequently hired by Random House in 1956 as Assistant Sales Manager and, under Bennett Cerf's guidance, he became the youngest Corporate Vice President in the company's history, at the age of 34. He subsequently was promoted to Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, and President of the Children's Group. In this capacity he developed notable authors and franchises including Theodore Geisel's Dr. Suess, Roald Dahl, the Berenstain Bears and Charles Schultz's Peanuts family. His role in adult publishing at Random House placed him in close contact with numerous influential authors and world leaders, including, in part, Golda Meier, Gerald Ford, William Styron, Truman Capote, James Michener and Robert Penn Warren. From 1981 to 1983 Mr. Krinsley was also President of Ballantine Books, a subsidiary of Random House. In 1983 Mr. Krinsley was hired by Scholastic as Executive Vice President and President of the Book Group. He worked for Scholastic until 1991, when he retired, before serving for one year on the company's Board of Directors. In 1983 The Scholastic Book Group had a small presence in the school market with its book clubs. The Book Fairs were being run by a group of independent local entrepreneurs. Richard Robinson, President and founder of Scholastic, knew that he needed a savvy industry veteran to lead and recruit a new team who knew the children's book market and jumpstart a lackluster publishing program. The "Krins," as he was affectionately known by many of his colleagues, was the perfect choice for the job. While he often described himself as a book peddler in his self- deprecating style, his brilliance was the ability to put together a team that became among the best in the industry, in the process mentoring a new generation of publishing leaders. Notable series that they developed included the Babysitters Club and the Magic School Bus and Clifford the Big Red Dog. In 1986 he spearheaded a project that led to a joint United States-Russian children's poetry anthology, one of the first commercial collaborations between the two nations. His team created a new digest format for paperbacks that became the standard for series publishing and was sold into the bookstore market and through a new set of School Book Clubs. He led the strategy to buy most of the existing book fair companies and linked them to the Scholastic brand, a business that remains the biggest profit center in the Book Group today. Ultimately, under Mr. Krinsley's guidance Scholastic became the largest publisher and distributor of children's books in the world. He was an enthusiast for people, for books and for publishing. As successful and rewarding as his professional life was, Richard Krinsley's feather in his cap was his 64-year marriage to his beloved wife, Susan, whom he met when they were undergraduates at the University of Michigan, and the relationships he treasured with his three children, Jamie, Jan, Carolyn, their respective spouses, Maureen, Fred and Kevin, and all six grandchildren, Jeremy, Jeremy's wife Karen, Jenna, Anna, Danny, Emma and Jake. Those relationships created the sparkle in Richard's eyes and his never-ending love and support for his family is what sustained him. They were the pure joy in his life. A private memorial service will be planned in the future. To honor Richard, donations can be made to: United Jewish Appeal, First Book or Save the Children.