Sunday, March 12, 2023

Dean Street Press

Very sorry to learn of the unexpected death of Rupert Heath, a British literary agent who founded Dean Street Press, bringing many gems back into print.  Several years ago, he added the Furrowed Middlebrow imprint, which I have also greatly enjoyed.   I had hoped to meet Rupert for a drink when I was in London last June but the timing did not work.  Here is a link to the obituary written by his sister in the Bookseller.  Scott at Furrowed Middlebrow has also written about Rupert.

I know Rupert greatly enjoyed Dean Street December, hosted by Liz at Adventures in Reading, Running, and Working from Home, and I am glad she made time to organize that at such a busy time of year.

I enjoyed my correspondence with Rupert and his comments on my reviews.  This is a loss to all readers. My sympathy to his family and coworkers.

6 comments:

Sue in Suffolk said...

So sad to read of this on Scotts blog - only 54 - far, far too young.
Huge loss to publishing for many who've enjoyed all the reprints

Cath said...

I didn't know Rupert but such a sad loss of one so young. 54 is no age at all. A great shame.

TracyK said...

This is very sad. So young and so sudden. I had heard of Rupert Heath's death first at In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel. I wasn't familiar with him but obviously have heard a lot about Dean Street Press, which is quite an accomplishment.

Liz Dexter said...

It was devastating news, wasn't it. And just this morning I published a blog post which included a picture with some DSP books in it (the book I reviewed wasn't one) and I thought how every other time I've posted a picture on Twitter, Rupert has popped up and liked it or mentioned he can see some good books on there - and that will never happen again.

Thank you for mentioning my DSP December challenge. As the books there are will continue to be available, and a good few people mentioned last year that they wanted to do it again - so I have a mind to run it if people don't think it's odd to.

CLM said...

It is amazing to feel such a sense of loss for someone I never met! I definitely think you should do it again - I am sure there are still plenty of books we haven't read yet. Enough for several years!

Davida Chazan (The Chocolate Lady) said...

I am just... stunned! This is terrible news. I'm so sorry for everyone who knew him, his family, and anyone who ever read even one Dean Street Press book! My deepest condolences.