PREISS, Byron 1953(?)-2005

(Byron Cary Preiss)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born c. 1953, in New York, NY; died in a car accident July 9, 2005, in East Hampton, NY. Publisher and author. A pioneer in the area of digital publishing, Preiss was president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications and Ibooks, as well as an author in his own right of children's and adult books. With an early interest in education, he was an editor and writer for the television program Electric Company from 1972 to 1973, as well as an elementary school teacher in Pennsylvania. Graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973, he completed a master's degree in communications at Stanford University in 1974. From there, he was hired as head writer for American Broadcasting Company television in San Francisco, worked as a movie writer and director during the mid-1970s, and was an editor for publisher Harcourt Brace Jovanovich from 1976 to 1977. Preiss then founded his own publishing house and quickly became a leader in publishing biographies, as well as books in other media besides print. His release of the audiobook The Words of Gandhi earned a 1985 Grammy award. Preiss, who enjoyed science fiction, fantasy, and mystery books, also became interested in graphic novels and later focused on digital publications, releasing books on CD-ROM and as e-books. An accomplished writer himself, he wrote lighthearted juvenile titles such as The Silent "E's" from Outer Space (1973) and The First Crazy Word Book: Verbs 1982), and authored genre fiction, such as the science-fiction novel Starfawn (1976) and the fantasy Dragonworld (1979), the latter which he wrote with Michael Reaves.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, July 11, 2005, p. A19.

ONLINE

Publishers Newswire Online, http://www.publishersnewswire.com/ (July 11, 2005).