Richard Robinson, longtime Scholastic CEO, dead at 84

NEW YORK – Richard Robinson, who as the longtime head of Scholastic Inc. formed the looking through behaviors of tens of millions of younger readers by this sort of bestsellers as J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” novels and by a vast range of instructional supplies, looking through golf equipment and e book fairs, has died. He was 84.

The kid’s publishing large introduced that Robinson died Saturday, but did not instantly offer a result in. He had been in exceptional well being, according to the publisher.

“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Dick Robinson,” Scholastic’s board of directors claimed in a assertion. “Dick was a genuine visionary in the entire world of children’s publications and an unrelenting advocate for children’s literacy and training with a extraordinary passion his full existence.”

Less than his management, Scholastic grew to become the world’s biggest publisher of kid’s publications and has prolonged claimed it distributes one out of each and every three kid’s e book in the U.S. The publicly traded firm’s approximated web well worth is close to $one.two billion, down from in excess of $one.six billion in 2016 but perfectly above a reduced of beneath $800 million in the course of final year’s pandemic.

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Apart from the “Potter” publications, Scholastic also publishes this sort of well-known series as Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games,” Dav Pilkey’s “Captain Underpants” and Norman Bridwell’s “Clifford the Huge Red Dog.” Scholastic is or else a classroom fixture by its golf equipment, newsletters and other plans, including a partnership with novelist James Patterson. Contributors in Scholastic’s yearly Artwork & Writing Awards for learners have involved Robert Redford, Stephen King and Lena Dunham.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden tweeted Sunday that “Robinson was a large and a legend in children’s literature” and cited his “lasting legacy” as a supporter of libraries and looking through.

Robinson’s survivors contain two sons he had with Helen Benham, from whom he is now divorced.

A Pittsburgh indigenous and graduate of Harvard College or university, he was the son of Maurice R. Robinson, who founded Scholastic as a classroom magazine in 1920. The youthful Robinson labored as a significant faculty English instructor and a bricklayer, among the other positions, just before signing up for Scholastic as an affiliate magazine editor in 1962.

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