Thursday, March 06, 2008

TRIBUTE TO RICHARD KING BY PUBLISHER/BOOKSELLER BRIAN PHILLIPS:

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.

3 comments:

Rachael King said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

This is terribly sad. I saw him only the day before and he and Gillian made me feel very welcome to Canterbury University, where I have just started. Condolences to Gillian, and to family, friends and colleagues.

Anonymous said...

Very sad news. Richard was a lovely man. I learned a lot from him - he was a big help to me as designer on my first magazine, New Outlook, 25 years ago - and always enjoyed his company. Condolences to Gillian and the family.