Wednesday, March 05, 2008


RICHARD KING R.I.P.

It is with enormous regret and a huge sense of disbelief and sorrow that I have to advise the sudden death at his home today of Richard King, publisher at Canterbury University Press.

An obituary will follow in due course. Meantime my deepest sympathy to his family and especially to his partner, bookseller Gillian Newman.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I express my condolence, may his soul rest in peace.

Anonymous said...

Like many others I am deeply saddened by the untimely death of Richard King.
He was a vital and much loved member of the Christchurch literary community and will be sorely missed by authors, booksellers and publishers alike as well as by his many friends.. His contribution to the development of Canterbury University Press has been enormous – as was his prior contribution to the quality of New Zealand publishing as for many years he was one of this country’s best freelance book designers. Many is the book I have opened to see “Designed by Richard King’ proudly displayed on the Imprint page. At the time of his death he was in the final stages of overseeing the publication of what will be a fitting legacy – the third [updated] edition of The Natural History of Canterbury – a massive scholarly tome of over 900 pages that is scheduled for publication mid-year. He led a rich and full life shared in recent years by his partner Gillian Newman – they were a devoted couple and our hearts go out to her at this terribly sad time. He will never be forgotten.