(from Publishers Lunch, 10/7.)
Literary agent Loretta Barrett, 74, died peacefully in Manhattan from complications of a brain tumor, her agency reports. Barrett began working in publishing in 1967 as an editor at Anchor Press, where she was promoted to editor-in-chief in 1970. She left Doubleday in 1990 to start her agency, Loretta Barrett Books. Barrett served on board of directors of Reading is Fundamental for 32 years, most recently as secretary, and in 2011 the organization honored her efforts, reporting that she was personally responsible for an estimated 3 million new books being given to poor American children to keep as their own.
A mass will be held at 10 AM on Tuesday morning, October 14, at the Church of St. Francis Xavier, 46 West 16 Street in New York, NY and a celebration of her life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers it was her wish that friends and family make a donation to:
Reading is Fundamental
1730 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Suite 1100,
Washington DC 20036
http://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2014/10/people-loretta-barrett-74/