Ruth Cavin
Ruth Cavin (October 15, 1918[1] – January 9, 2011) was an American book editor who worked as an associate publisher of Thomas Dunne Books, where she started working at age 70 and oversaw the publication of 900 books. Mystery fiction was her specialty in her two decades in the business.
Cavin was born Ruth Brodie in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Jewish immigrants who taught her how to read as a young child.[2] She attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, earning her undergraduate degree there in 1939 and married Bram Cavin, a journalist with BusinessWeek whom she met after moving to New York City. She lived the life of a typical suburban housewife, raising her twin daughters in suburban Westchester County, New York, and didn't begin her publishing career until 1979, when she started editing books for Walker & Company.[3]
Hired by St. Martin's Press to work at its Thomas Dunne Books unit when she was already in her 70s, Cavin helped develop first novels by such mystery fiction authors as Donna Andrews, Steve Hamilton, Julia Spencer-Fleming and Laurie R. King.[3] The Malice Domestic Contest, a yearly competition honoring best first mystery novels, was begun by St. Martin's Press based on Cavin's suggestion. Earning the nickname "First Lady of Mysteries" that adorned a plaque in her office, author Sue Grafton called Cavin "soul mother to mystery writers for years".[4] She helped edit and publish 900 books in a broad range of genres during her tenure there, continuing to work as an editor until 2010 when she was diagnosed with lung cancer.[2] Cavin wrote a number of her own books, including Trolleys and Complete Party Dinners for the Novice Cook, a book that she had originally conceived of as Dinners for Beginners.[2]
Personal life
Together with her husband, Bram Cavin, she had twin daughters, Nora and Emily, and a son, Tony. Her husband died in 2009. Cavin died at the age of 92 at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York, on January 9, 2011, due to lung cancer.[3]
References
- ^ Locher, Frances C. "Contemporary Authors: Includes Volumes 61-64", p. 109. Gale (publisher), 1976. ISBN 0-8103-0028-1. Accessed February 1, 2011.
- ^ a b c Italie, Hillel via Associated Press. "Ruth Cavin, editor of mysteries, dies at age 92"[permanent dead link], WLOX, January 10, 2011. Accessed January 16, 2011.
- ^ a b c Stasio, Marilyn. "Ruth Cavin, Editor Known to Cultivate Promising Writers, Dies at 92", The New York Times, January 13, 2011. Accessed January 14, 2011.
- ^ Italie, Hillel via Associated Press. "She knows where bodies are buried" Archived 2011-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, South Coast Today, August 12, 2001. Accessed January 16, 2011.
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- Elizabeth George (1988)
- Jill Churchill (1989)
- Katherine Hall Page (1990)
- Mary Willis Walker (1991)
- Barbara Neely (1992)
- Nevada Barr (1993)
- Jeff Abbott (1994)
- Jeanne M. Dams (1995)
- Anne George (1996)
- Sujata Massey (1997)
- Robin Hathaway (1998)
- Donna Andrews (1999)
- Rosemary Stevens (2000)
- Sarah Strohmeyer (2001)
- Julia Spencer-Fleming (2002)
- Jacqueline Winspear (2003)
- Harley Jane Kozak (2004)
- Laura Durham (2005)
- Sandra Parshall (2006)
- Hank Phillippi Ryan (2007)
- G. M. Malliet (2008)
- Alan Bradley (2009)
- Avery Aames (2010)
- Sara J. Henry (2011)
- Susan M. Boyer (2012)
- Leslie Budewitz (2013)
- Terrie Farley Moran (2014)
- Art Taylor (2015)
- Cynthia Kuhn (2016)
- Kellye Garrett (2017)
- Dianne Freeman and Shari Randall (2018) (tie)
- Tara Laskowski (2019)
- Erica Neubauer (2020)
- Hank Phillippi Ryan (2013)
- Hank Phillippi Ryan (2014)
- Margaret Maron (2015)
- Louise Penny (2016)
- Louise Penny (2017)
- Ellen Byron (2018)
- Ann Cleeves (2019)
- Louise Penny (2020)
- Carolyn G. Hart (1988)
- Elizabeth Peters (1989)
- Nancy Pickard (1990)
- Nancy Pickard (1991)
- Margaret Maron (1992)
- Carolyn Hart (1993)
- Sharyn McCrumb (1994)
- Sharyn McCrumb (1995)
- Margaret Maron (1996)
- Kate Ross (1997)
- Laura Lippman (1998)
- Earlene Fowler (1999)
- Margaret Maron (2000)
- Rhys Bowen (2001)
- Donna Andrews (2002)
- Carolyn Hart (2003)
- Jacqueline Winspear (2004)
- Katherine Hall Page (2005)
- Nancy Pickard (2006)
- Louise Penny (2007)
- Louise Penny (2008)
- Louise Penny (2009)
- Louise Penny (2010)
- Margaret Maron (2011)
- Louise Penny (2012)
- Rhys Bowen (2011)
- Catriona McPherson (2012)
- Caroline and Charles Todd (2013)
- Rhys Bowen (2014)
- Laurie R. King (2015)
- Catriona McPherson (2016)
- Rhys Bowen (2017)
- Sujata Massey (2018)
- Edith Maxwell (2019)
- Rhys Bowen (2020)
- Barbara D'Amato (1993)
- Jean Swanson and Dean James (1994)
- Alzina Stone Dale (1995)
- Willeta L. Heisin (1996)
- Willeta L. Heisin (1997)
- Alzina Stone Dale (1998)
- Daniel Stashower (1999)
- Jim Huang (2000)
- Tony Hillerman (2001)
- Jim Huang (2002)
- Elizabeth Peters and Kristen Whitbread (2003)
- Jack French (2004)
- Melanie Rehak (2005)
- Chris Roerden (2006)
- Jon Lellenberg (2007)
- Kathy Lynn Emerson (2008)
- Elena Santangelo (2009)
- John Curran (2010)
- Leslie Budewitz (2011)
- John Connolly (2012)
- Daniel Stashower (2013)
- Hank Phillippi Ryan (2014)
- Martin Edwards (2015)
- Jane K. Cleland (2016)
- Mattias Bostrom (2017)
- Jane Cleland (2018)
- Mo Moulton (2019)
- Christina Lane (2020)
- Robert Barnard (1988)
- Sharyn McCrumb (1989)
- Joan Hess (1990)
- Margaret Maron (1991)
- Aaron Elkins and Charlotte Elkins (1992)
- M. D. Lake (1993)
- Dorothy Cannell (1994)
- Elizabeth Daniels (1995)
- Carolyn Wheat (1996)
- M. D. Lake (1997)
- Barbara D'Amato (1998)
- Nancy Pickard (1999)
- Jan Burke (2000)
- Katherine Hall Page (2001)
- Margaret Maron and Marcia Talley (2002)
- Elizabeth Foxwell (2003)
- Elaine Viets (2004)
- Marcia Talley (2005)
- Toni Kelner (2006)
- Donna Andrews (2007)
- Dana Cameron (2008)
- Hank Phillippi Ryan (2009)
- Mary Jane Maffini (2010)
- Dana Cameron (2011)
- Dana Cameron (2012)
- Art Taylor (2013)
- Art Taylor (2014)
- Barb Goffman (2015)
- Art Taylor (2016)
- Gigi Pandian (2017)
- Leslie Budewitz and Tara Laskowski (2018) (tie)
- Shawn Reilly Simmons (2019)
- Barb Goffman (2020)
- Cindy Callaghan (2018)
Young Adult Fiction
- Penny Warner (2001)
- Daniel J. Hale & Matthew LaBrot (2002)
- Kathleen Karr (2003)
- Blue Balliett (2004)
- Peter Abrahams (2005)
- Nancy Means Wright (2006)
- Sarah Masters Buckey (2007)
- Chris Grabenstein (2008)
- Chris Grabenstein (2009)
- Sarah Smith (2010)
- Chris Grabenstein (2011)
- Penny Warner (2012)
- Chris Grabenstein (2013)
- Penny Warner (2014)
- Amanda Flower (2015)
- Penny Warner (2016)
- Cindy Callaghan (2017)
- Frances Schoonmaker (2019)
- Richard Narvaez (2020)
for Lifetime Achievement
- Phyllis A. Whitney (1990)
- Mignon G. Eberhart (1994)
- Mary Stewart (1996)
- Emma Lathen (1997)
- Charlotte MacLeod (1998)
- Patricia Moyes (1999)
- Dick Francis (2000)
- Mildred Benson (2001)
- Tony Hillerman (2002)
- Barbara Mertz, Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels (2003)
- Marian Babson (2004)
- H.R.F. Keating (2005)
- Robert Barnard (2006)
- Carolyn Hart (2007)
- Peter Lovesey (2008)
- Anne Perry (2009)
- Mary Higgins Clark (2010)
- Sue Grafton (2011)
- Simon Brett (2012)
- Aaron Elkins (2013)
- Dorothy Cannell, Joan Hess and Margaret Maron (2014)
- Sara Paretsky (2015)
- Katherine Hall Page (2016)
- Charlaine Harris (2017)
- Nancy Pickard (2018)
Poirot Award
- David Suchet (2003)
- Ruth Cavin (2004)
- Angela Lansbury (2005)
- Douglas G. Greene (2006)
- Janet Hutchings and Linda Landrigan (2008)
- Kate Stine and Brian Skupin (2009)
- William Link (2010)
- Janet Rudolph (2011)
- Lee Goldberg (2012)
- Tom Schantz (2014)
- Barbara G. Peters (2016)
- Martin Edwards (2017)
- Brenda Blethyn (2018)