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Marilyn Malin

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British children's publisher, editor and literary agent (died 2022)

Marilyn Malin
Born1935 or 1936
Died2022 (2023)
EducationNorth London Collegiate School
Alma materKing's College London
Occupations
  • publisher
  • editor
  • agent
Known formanaging director at Methuen Children's Books

Marilyn Malin was a British literary agent, an editor and a publisher; she was the managing director of Methuen Children's Books.

Early life and education

Marilyn's parents were Irene (née Littenberg) and Albert Malin; she was Jewish, and born and brought up in Golders Green, London. She had at least one sister. Marilyn attended North London Collegiate School. She was awarded a state scholarship, which she took up at King's College London.

Career

Malin got a job as a secretary at the publishers Blackie and Son in the 1950s. In the 1960s she joined Methuen Children's Books, first as an assistant to Olive Jones. She became assistant children's books editor in 1965, and, towards the end of the 1960s, managing director. With Charles Shirley, she "create the separate entity of Methuen Children's Books. It was an outward-looking company whose sense of identity was enhanced by bright design, a keen marketing drive, and a strong European flavour". Malin was described as one of the "eminent editorial directors of her time". Her acceptance, in 1966 with Olive Jones, of The River Kings by Max Fatchen, has been described as the result of "a culture of calculated risk".

In the 1980s, Malin left Methuen to become a literary agent.

Malin was the UK editor for Astrid Lindgren, and for Ivan Southall. She was editor for Rosemary Manning, and wrote about her for the journal Bookbird. She published Michael Morpurgo's Warhorse, and books by Floella Benjamin, John Agard and James Berry. She worked with Michael Palin on his children's book Small Harry. Malin was the agent for Kjartan Poskitt, She was a mentor to the illustrator Jane Pinkney. Malin commissioned a book written by Alison Prince with 21 primary school children.

In 1986 Malin started her own publishing imprint, Marilyn Malin Books, in partnership with André Deutsch.

Personal life

Malin died in 2022 aged 86.

Publications

  • "Ruth Manning-Saunders: a memoir", in Bookbird, 1989 (27,1) pp 9–10

References

  1. ^ Nissen, Jane (28 February 2022). "Marilyn Malin obituary". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  2. ^ The Publisher. Publishers Circular, Limited. 1966. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  3. Ross, David (28 August 1995). "Fresh looks for books. Obituary: Charles Shirley". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  4. ^ Comerford, Ruth (21 February 2022). "Marilyn Marin dies, aged 86". The Bookseller. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  5. Male, Andrew (1997). Other Times: The Life and Work of Max Fatchen. Wakefield Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-1-86254-383-6. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  6. Epstein, B.J. (2014). True North: Literary Translation in the Nordic Countries. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-4438-6118-2. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  7. Steggall, Stephany Evans (2006). The Loved and the Lost: The Life of Ivan Southall. Lothian Books. ISBN 978-0-7344-0948-5. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  8. "Marilyn Malin, Great Britain". Bookbird (v. 25). the International Board on Books for Young People. 1987. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  9. Palin, Michael (2009). Halfway To Hollywood: Diaries 1980-1988 (Volume Two). Orion. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-297-86051-8. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  10. "Children's News". The Bookseller (5441): 18. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  11. "An artist's bolthole". The Yorkshire Post. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  12. Gudgin, Chris (1 July 1987). "Discovering How". Books For Keeps – The Children's Book Magazine Online. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  13. Hill, Richard (1 May 1986). "Marilyn Malin – Own Brand Books". Books For Keeps – The Children's Book Magazine Online. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  14. "Marilyn Malin, 86: Insightful publisher of books that 'children actually want to read'". The Times & The Sunday Times. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2024.

See also

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