Peter Workman Dies at 74

Peter Workman, the founder of Workman Publishing, is dead at the age of 74.

The company had announced a few weeks ago that Workman would not be returning to the office, as he had been battling cancer since last autumn.

Workman is survived by his wife of fifty-one years, Carolan Raskin Workman; their two daughters, Katie and Elizabeth; their sons-in-law, Gary Freilich and Mark Williams; and four grandchildren: Jack, Charlie, Madeline, and Charlotte.

The Workman Publishing blog today mourned the loss of the company’s founder:

He was, in so many ways, an extraordinary man.

He was the founder, president and CEO of Workman Publishing Company, one of the largest independent publishers of nonfiction trade books and calendars. In addition to the Workman imprint, the company consists of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Artisan, Storey Books, Timber Press, and HighBridge Audio. He served on the board of the Goddard-Riverside Community Center and the board of Prep-for-Prep; he was a member of the Publishing Committee of UJA-Federation of New York and chairman of the Board of Governors of Yale University Press. Peter was a generous supporter of the Human Rights Watch, the ACLU, and the Anti-Defamation League, among many organizations. In honor of his late brother he developed the David Workman Grant Program at Deerfield Academy, a charity to help students fund and implement their own humanitarian projects. His love of music and art prompted his support of the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He was a passionate golfer and skier and a keen poker player, and he took great pleasure in the company of friends, colleagues, and family.

Workman’s imprints were known in the business as both quirky and far-reaching. Over the years, bestsellers have included The Official Preppy Handbook, The Silver Palate Cookbook, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Brain Quest and 1,000 Places To See Before You Die and, through Algonquin, Water for Elephants, A Reliable Wife, and the Bellwether Prize-winners Mudbound and The Girl Who Fell from the Sky.