Robert Weil is an Executive Editor and Vice President of the publishing imprint W.W. Norton / Liveright.[1] From 2011 to 2022 he was the Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of Liveright, succeeded by Peter J. Simon in July, 2022.

Early life and career

Weil graduated from Yale College with a B.A. in History in 1977, and originally considered teaching high school before beginning his publishing career with Times Books in 1978 as an Editorial Assistant.[2] Two and a half years later he moved to the former Omni Magazine. With Omni Magazine he introduced a book division and packaged and agented science books to publishers before becoming Senior Editor at St. Martin's Press in 1988, a division of Macmillan Publishers.[3] Weil's acquisitions included Michael Wallis's Route 66, Henry Roth's tetralogy of novels called The Mercy of a Rude Stream, Oliver Stone's autobiographical novel A Child's Night Dream, and John Bayley's Elegy for Iris.[4]

W.W. Norton & Company / Liveright Publishing

In 1998, Weil moved to W.W. Norton & Company as an Executive Editor.[5] His acquisition of most of the Patricia Highsmith backlist, which included several new volumes, in 1999, helped launch the Highsmith renaissance in the U.S. and the 2015 film Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, based on the novel The Price of Salt, as well as Highsmith's diaries, published in 2021.[6] Weil also worked for several years with Paul McCartney (and Paul Muldoon[7]) on the editing of McCartney's book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, published in 2021.[8]

In 2011, Weil was named the Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of Liveright Publishing Corporation.[9] Per a 2021 profile in Publishers Weekly, "The relaunched imprint released its first books in 2012. It started with two full-time staffers and a list of about 20 books per year, and has grown to eight staffers and about 40 books annually."[10] During Weil's tenure as Editor-in-Chief, Liveright received four Pulitzer Prizes (among nine finalists)[11] as well as a National Book Award (among eight nominees).[12] The current staff of Liveright includes Peter J. Simon, Peter Miller, Gina Iaquinta, Nick Curley, Haley Bracken, Clio Hamilton, Fanta Diallo, Maria Connors, and Kadiatou Keita.

Additional work

Beyond editing, Weil frequently lectures on writing, publishing history, and the state of American culture and literature. He has spoken in Munich, Guadalajara, Miami, Chicago, and at Yale University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Nebraska, among others. He has also written on books and publishing for various publications including The Washington Post and ArtForum.

Selected authors edited by Robert Weil

Selected works edited by Robert Weil

Year Title Author Accolades
1996From Bondage (Mercy of a Rude Stream, Vol. 3)Henry RothFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
1997The Smell of Apples: A NovelMark BehrLos Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction
1998All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of SlaveryHenry MayerFinalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
1999The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and WhiteHenry WiencekNational Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
1999Elegy for IrisJohn BayleyNew York Times Bestseller
Basis for Iris (2001 film)
2000Darkness in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the AmazonPatrick TierneyFinalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
2003Nelson Mandela's Favorite African FolktalesNelson Mandela (Editor)NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children
2005Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on TerrorismGeoffrey R. StoneLos Angeles Times Book Prize for History
2008The Hemingses of Monticello: An American FamilyAnnette Gordon-ReedPulitzer Prize for History
National Book Award for Nonfiction
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
2008The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the BritishSarah LyallNew York Times Bestseller
2009Stitches: A MemoirDavid SmallFinalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature
New York Times Bestseller
2009The Book of GenesisRobert CrumbNew York Times Bestseller
2009Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great DepressionMorris DicksteinFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism
2010Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond LimitsLinda GordonLos Angeles Times Book Prize for History
The Bancroft Prize
2010Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and this Rendezvous with American HistoryYunte HuangFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography)
Edgar Award (Critical/Biographical)
California Book Award (Nonfiction)
2012Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American MasterpieceMichael GorraFinalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
2012The Social Conquest of EarthEdward O. WilsonNew York Times Bestseller
New York Times Notable Book
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction
2012Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective StoryJim HoltNew York Times Bestseller
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
2013Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures, and InnovationsMary BeardFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism
2013Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the PresentMax BootNew York Times Bestseller
2013Karl Marx: A Nineteenth-Century LifeJonathan SperberFinalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography
2013Letters to a Young ScientistEdward O. WilsonNew York Times Bestseller
2014Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a MasqueradeWalter KirnNew York Times Bestseller
2014The Last Kind Words Saloon: A NovelLarry McMurtryNew York Times Bestseller
2014The Meaning of Human ExistenceEdward O. WilsonNew York Times Bestseller
Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
2014Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our TimeIra KatznelsonThe Bancroft Prize
2015The Complete Works of Primo LeviPrimo Levi, translated by Ann GoldsteinNew York Times Notable Book
2015SPQR: A History of Ancient RomeMary BeardNew York Times Bestseller
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
2015Words Without Music: A MemoirPhilip GlassNew York Times Bestseller
2016Cousin Joseph: A Graphic NovelJules FeifferNew York Times Bestseller
2016’’Most Blessed of the Patriarchs’’: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the ImaginationAnnette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. OnufNew York Times Bestseller
2016New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early AmericaWendy WarrenFinalist for the Pulitzer Prize for History
New York Times Notable Book
2016Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted LifeRuth FranklinNational Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography
Edgar Award (Critical/Biographical)
Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction
New York Times Notable Book
2017The Annotated African American FolktalesHenry Louis Gates, Jr. and Maria TatarNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
2017The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated AmericaRichard RothsteinLonglisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
New York Times Bestseller
New York Times Notable Book
Winner of the Hillman Prize
2017The Gulf: The Making of An American SeaJack E. DavisPulitzer Prize for History
Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
New York Times Notable Book
2018The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in VietnamMax BootFinalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
2018These Truths: A History of the United StatesJill LeporeNew York Times Bestseller
2018We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil RightsAdam WinklerShortlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
New York Times Notable Book
2018The Prison Letters of Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNPR Best Books of 2018
2019Audience of One: Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of AmericaJames PoniewozikNew York Times Notable Book
2019Inseparable: The Original Siamese Twins and Their Rendezvous with American HistoryYunte Huang
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
2019Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's FuturePete ButtigiegNew York Times Bestseller
2020AfropessimismFrank B. Wilderson IIILonglisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
2020The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm XLes Payne and Tamara PayneNational Book Award for Nonfiction
Pulitzer Prize for Biography
New York Times Notable Book
2020If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the FutureJill LeporeLonglisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction
2020The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil WarMichael GorraNew York Times Notable Book
2020Trust: America's Best ChancePete ButtigiegNew York Times Bestseller
2021On JuneteenthAnnette Gordon-ReedNew York Times Bestseller
New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year
New York Times Critics Best Books of 2021
2021Pessoa: A BiographyRichard ZenithNew York Times Critics Best Books of 2021
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
2021The Lyrics: 1956 to the PresentPaul McCartneyNew York Times Bestseller
Barnes & Noble Book of the Year
20231964: Eyes of the StormPaul McCartneyNew York Times Bestseller
2023Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman WorldMary BeardNew York Times Bestseller

References

  1. ""Norton Revives Liveright Imprint." Poets and Writers". September 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  2. ""Robert Weil and the Music of Editing." PW". Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  3. ""Robert Weil and the Music of Editing." PW". Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  4. "Heyman Center". Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  5. "Irene Lacher. "The Sunday Conversation: Robert Weil." Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  6. "How Anna von Planta edited Patricia Highsmith's new diaries - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. 11 November 2021.
  7. "David Sedaris's Diaries and Paul McCartney's Songs". The New York Times. 24 December 2021.
  8. "Paul McCartney Doesn't Really Want to Stop the Show". The New Yorker. 8 October 2021.
  9. "Emily Witt. "Robert Weil and Star Lawrence Discuss Changes at Norton." The New York Observer". The New York Observer. 7 July 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  10. "For Liveright, Good Editing is Good Business".
  11. "Pulitzer Prize | History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica".
  12. "National Book Awards 2021".
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