Larry Kirshbaum

Laurence "Larry" Kirshbaum is the former chief of publishing for Amazon Publishing.

Larry Kirshbaum
Born1944 (age 75–76)
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
OccupationBook publisher
Known forChief of publishing at Amazon.com
Spouse(s)Barbara Feder
Children2

Biography

Born to a Jewish family in Chicago in 1944 and raised in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.[1] In 1966, Kirshbaum graduated with a B.A. from the University of Michigan.[2] After school, he worked for Newsweek.[1][2] In 1970, he co-wrote a book with Roger Rapoport about student protests, Is the Library Burning?[1][2] In 1970, he accepted a job as a salesman for Random House selling to drugstores, small groceries, and gift shops.[2] In 1974, he went to work for Warner Books where he became a publisher in 1985, working with Jack Welch and Michael Eisner on their memoirs.[2] He then became CEO of the Time Warner Book Group.[3][4] In 2005, he left Time Warner to found his own literary agency.[2] In 2011, he went to work as the chief of publishing for Amazon Publishing;[5][3] which was striving to build its own publishing business. He signed numerous authors including actress and director Penny Marshall and best-selling writer Timothy Ferris.[6] In 2012, his efforts were crushed after bookseller Barnes & Noble stated that it would not sell books published by Amazon in its stores.[6] In October 2013, it was announced that he was leaving Amazon and will be replaced by Daphne Durham.[6]

Personal life

He is married to the former Barbara Feder of Highland Park, Illinois; they have two children.[1]

In 2013, he was accused of sexual assaulting a woman.[7] Catherine Redlich, Kirshbaum's attorney, stated that the incident was a "consensual relationship from a decade ago which turned sour".[8][9]

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References
  1. Chicago Tribune: "The Man Who`s Betting Millions On 'Gone With The Wind II' by John Blades October 03, 1988
  2. Vanity Fair: "The Book on Publishing" BY Keith Gessen October 2011
  3. Stone, Brad (January 25, 2012). "Amazon's Hit Man: Larry Kirshbaum was the ultimate book industry insider—until Amazon called". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  4. Cohen, Roger (July 17, 1991). "A Title Change". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  5. Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (May 23, 2011). "Amazon Hires Publishing Veteran Kirshbaum for New Imprint". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  6. Wall Street Journal: "Publishing Executive Larry Kirshbaum to Leave Amazon - Kirshbaum, Who Made Waves by Signing Big-Name Authors, to Leave Early Next Year" By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg October 25, 2013
  7. Edwards, Jim (August 28, 2013). "Amazon's Book Publishing Chief Accused Of Sexual Assault In Lawsuit". Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  8. Edwards, Jim (August 28, 2013). "Lawyer For Amazon's Publishing Chief Blasts Woman Who Accused Him of Sexual Harassment". Business Insider. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  9. Bury, Liz (August 29, 2013). "Amazon executive Larry Kirshbaum accused of sexual assault". The Guardian. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
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