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Ed Victor

August 24, 2023

Not to be confused with Edward Victor (1887–1964), British stage magician.

Edward "Ed" Victor CBE (9 September 1939 – 7 June 2017) was an American literary agent, based, for most of his career, in London, England.

Ed Victor

CBE
Born
Edward Victor

(1939-09-09)9 September 1939
New York City, US
Died7 June 2017(2017-06-07) (aged 77)
London, England
EducationBayside High School
Dartmouth College
Pembroke College, Cambridge
OccupationLiterary agent
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1963; div. 1975)​

Carol Ryan
Children3

Biography

Victor was born on 9 September 1939, in Bronx, New York City. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, who ran a photographic equipment store,[1][2] he went to Bayside High School in the borough of Queens, later earning a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. After graduating, he attended Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, on a Marshall Scholarship in 1961.[3][4]

Publishing editor

Victor married Michelene Samuels, the writer, in 1963; the couple made their home in London and had two children. Victor worked for the Oborne Press, a publishing house, then part of Lord Beaverbrook's Express Newspapers group. He then worked on coffee table books for Weidenfeld & Nicolson. After approaching George Weidenfeld in the toilet, Victor was moved to general publishing, looking after the works of Saul Bellow and Vladimir Nabokov.[3]

Ink

In 1970, his first marriage ended in divorce. In 1971, Victor co-founded the countercultural newspaper Ink[5] with Oz founders Felix Dennis and Richard Neville.[4] By 1972, conflict about what Ink should be led to its failure, and Victor returned to the United States to work for Knopf.[3]

Literary agent

Victor married his second wife, American lawyer Carol Ryan,[2] and, after a year travelling, made their main home in London to be close to Victor's children.[6] Victor was one of the first former journalist/editors to make the move to be a publishing agent, when in the 1970s literary agents were not welcomed by British publishers. However, many changed their minds when Victor's first sale in 1976[7] was for the book and film rights to Stephen Shephard's novel The Four Hundred for $1.5 million. In 2005, Victor's client John Banville won the Booker Prize. The following day Victor sold Eric Clapton's memoirs for $4 million.[3]

Rather than take "blind" scripts sent to him, Victor instead began to gain clients through personal reference. He is recalled as being "the first agent to increase his commission from 10% to 15%. Few of his clients complained and over the years other agents quietly followed him....He negotiated deals for his authors that few could match."[8] In 2003, Victor and his wife were named second on Tatler's list of the most invited guests in London, behind Elton John.[3]

In the 2016 New Year Honours he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to literature.[9] In September 2016, it was reported that David Cameron had signed with Victor to write his memoirs.[10]

He celebrated the 40th anniversary of his literary agency, Ed Victor Ltd, in November 2016.[11]

Personal life

With his second wife, Carol Ryan, Victor lived mainly in London, with a secondary home in the Hamptons on Long Island, in the United States. The couple had a son, Ryan, while Victor had sons, Adam and Ivan, from his first marriage to Michelene Wandor.[1] In 2002, Victor suffered an attack of viral pneumonia, but fully recovered.[3]

The same year, Victor published his first book, The Obvious Diet – Your Personal Way to Lose Weight Fast Without Changing Your Lifestyle, through Ebury Press and Arcade Publishing.[12][13]

Victor was vice chairman of the board of directors of the Almeida Theatre, a Trustee of the Arts Foundation[14] and of the Hay Festival,[15] as well as a founding director of the Groucho Club.[16]

Death

On 7 June 2017, while suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Victor died from a heart attack.[17][18]

Selected clients

From official website[19]

References

  1. ^ a b Barnett, David (8 June 2017). "Ed Victor obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b Doherty, Rosa (8 June 2017). "'Smart, charming, brilliant' Ed Victor dies aged 78". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merritt, Stephanie, "The Mr Big of publishing", The Observer profile, 11 March 2007.
  4. ^ a b Roberts, Sam, "Ed Victor, a Stylish and Frenetic Book Agent, Dies at 77", The New York Times, 12 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Ink" at rock'sbackpages library.
  6. ^ Barnett, David, "Ed Victor – an honoured literary agent", The Guardian, 31 December 2015.
  7. ^ Ed Victor Ltd at Writers Services.
  8. ^ Campbell, Charlie (11 April 2018). "'I work for Ed Victor...'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  9. ^ "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N10.
  10. ^ "Just fancy that". Private Eye. London: Pressdram. 30 September 2016.
  11. ^ Clee, Nicholas, "Obituary: Superagent Ed Victor Dies at 78", Publishers Weekly, 8 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Victor, Ed"[permanent dead link] at Arcade Publishing.
  13. ^ Whitfield, Fredricka, "Interview With Ed Victor", CNN Sunday Morning, 15 September 2002. CNN.com – Transcripts.
  14. ^ The International Who's Who 2004. Vol. 67. Psychology Press. 2003. p. 1741. ISBN 9781857432176.
  15. ^ "Final Report - Hay Festival" (PDF). www.hayfestival.com.
  16. ^ Dailey, Donna; John Tomedi; Harold Bloom (2005). London. Infobase Publishing. p. 184. ISBN 9781438115559.
  17. ^ Campbell, Lisa (8 June 2017). "Ed Victor dies". The Bookseller. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  18. ^ Sherwin, Adam, "Ed Victor, literary ‘super-agent’ to David Cameron and Nigella Lawson, dies", i News, 8 June 2017.
  19. ^ Clients 2017-10-03 at the Wayback Machine, Ed Victor Ltd.

External links

  • Ed Victor Ltd at Writers' & Artists' Yearbook

August 24, 2023
victor, confused, with, edward, victor, 1887, 1964, british, stage, magician, edward, victor, september, 1939, june, 2017, american, literary, agent, based, most, career, london, england, cbebornedward, victor, 1939, september, 1939new, york, city, usdied7, ju. Not to be confused with Edward Victor 1887 1964 British stage magician Edward Ed Victor CBE 9 September 1939 7 June 2017 was an American literary agent based for most of his career in London England Ed VictorCBEBornEdward Victor 1939 09 09 9 September 1939New York City USDied7 June 2017 2017 06 07 aged 77 London EnglandEducationBayside High School Dartmouth College Pembroke College CambridgeOccupationLiterary agentSpouse s Michelene Wandor m 1963 div 1975 wbr Carol RyanChildren3 Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Publishing editor 1 1 1 Ink 1 2 Literary agent 2 Personal life 3 Death 4 Selected clients 5 References 6 External linksBiography EditVictor was born on 9 September 1939 in Bronx New York City The son of Russian Jewish immigrant parents who ran a photographic equipment store 1 2 he went to Bayside High School in the borough of Queens later earning a bachelor s degree from Dartmouth College After graduating he attended Pembroke College University of Cambridge on a Marshall Scholarship in 1961 3 4 Publishing editor Edit Victor married Michelene Samuels the writer in 1963 the couple made their home in London and had two children Victor worked for the Oborne Press a publishing house then part of Lord Beaverbrook s Express Newspapers group He then worked on coffee table books for Weidenfeld amp Nicolson After approaching George Weidenfeld in the toilet Victor was moved to general publishing looking after the works of Saul Bellow and Vladimir Nabokov 3 Ink Edit In 1970 his first marriage ended in divorce In 1971 Victor co founded the countercultural newspaper Ink 5 with Oz founders Felix Dennis and Richard Neville 4 By 1972 conflict about what Ink should be led to its failure and Victor returned to the United States to work for Knopf 3 Literary agent Edit Victor married his second wife American lawyer Carol Ryan 2 and after a year travelling made their main home in London to be close to Victor s children 6 Victor was one of the first former journalist editors to make the move to be a publishing agent when in the 1970s literary agents were not welcomed by British publishers However many changed their minds when Victor s first sale in 1976 7 was for the book and film rights to Stephen Shephard s novel The Four Hundred for 1 5 million In 2005 Victor s client John Banville won the Booker Prize The following day Victor sold Eric Clapton s memoirs for 4 million 3 Rather than take blind scripts sent to him Victor instead began to gain clients through personal reference He is recalled as being the first agent to increase his commission from 10 to 15 Few of his clients complained and over the years other agents quietly followed him He negotiated deals for his authors that few could match 8 In 2003 Victor and his wife were named second on Tatler s list of the most invited guests in London behind Elton John 3 In the 2016 New Year Honours he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE for his services to literature 9 In September 2016 it was reported that David Cameron had signed with Victor to write his memoirs 10 He celebrated the 40th anniversary of his literary agency Ed Victor Ltd in November 2016 11 Personal life EditWith his second wife Carol Ryan Victor lived mainly in London with a secondary home in the Hamptons on Long Island in the United States The couple had a son Ryan while Victor had sons Adam and Ivan from his first marriage to Michelene Wandor 1 In 2002 Victor suffered an attack of viral pneumonia but fully recovered 3 The same year Victor published his first book The Obvious Diet Your Personal Way to Lose Weight Fast Without Changing Your Lifestyle through Ebury Press and Arcade Publishing 12 13 Victor was vice chairman of the board of directors of the Almeida Theatre a Trustee of the Arts Foundation 14 and of the Hay Festival 15 as well as a founding director of the Groucho Club 16 Death EditOn 7 June 2017 while suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia Victor died from a heart attack 17 18 Selected clients EditFrom official website 19 Douglas Adams Estate John Banville Johanna Basford Candice Bergen Carl Bernstein Max Brooks Mel Brooks Tina Brown Alastair Campbell Raymond Chandler Estate Eric Clapton Sophie Dahl Joe Eszterhas Sir Harold Evans Rupert Everett Sir Ranulph Fiennes Frederick Forsyth James Fox Mark Frost A A Gill Charles Glass Julian Glover Annabel Goldsmith Geordie Greig Josephine Hart Estate Jack Higgins Will Hutton Dylan Jones Nigella Lawson Kathy Lette Natascha McElhone Andrew Marr Iris Murdoch Estate Richard Neville Edna O Brien Ben Okri Roman Polanski Frederic Raphael Keith Richards Ruth Rogers Lisa St Aubin de Teran Gerald Scarfe Sir Stephen Spender Estate Pamela Stephenson Peter Stothard Pete Townshend Irving Wallace Estate Tim Waterstone Lord Lloyd Webber U2References Edit a b Barnett David 8 June 2017 Ed Victor obituary The Guardian Retrieved 9 June 2017 a b Doherty Rosa 8 June 2017 Smart charming brilliant Ed Victor dies aged 78 The Jewish Chronicle Retrieved 8 June 2017 a b c d e f Merritt Stephanie The Mr Big of publishing The Observer profile 11 March 2007 a b Roberts Sam Ed Victor a Stylish and Frenetic Book Agent Dies at 77 The New York Times 12 June 2017 Ink at rock sbackpages library Barnett David Ed Victor an honoured literary agent The Guardian 31 December 2015 Ed Victor Ltd at Writers Services Campbell Charlie 11 April 2018 I work for Ed Victor The Bookseller Retrieved 27 January 2022 No 61450 The London Gazette Supplement 30 December 2015 p N10 Just fancy that Private Eye London Pressdram 30 September 2016 Clee Nicholas Obituary Superagent Ed Victor Dies at 78 Publishers Weekly 8 June 2017 Victor Ed permanent dead link at Arcade Publishing Whitfield Fredricka Interview With Ed Victor CNN Sunday Morning 15 September 2002 CNN com Transcripts The International Who s Who 2004 Vol 67 Psychology Press 2003 p 1741 ISBN 9781857432176 Final Report Hay Festival PDF www hayfestival com Dailey Donna John Tomedi Harold Bloom 2005 London Infobase Publishing p 184 ISBN 9781438115559 Campbell Lisa 8 June 2017 Ed Victor dies The Bookseller Retrieved 8 June 2017 Sherwin Adam Ed Victor literary super agent to David Cameron and Nigella Lawson dies i News 8 June 2017 Clients Archived 2017 10 03 at the Wayback Machine Ed Victor Ltd External links EditOfficial website Ed Victor Ltd at Writers amp Artists Yearbook Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ed Victor amp oldid 1119962129, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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