Former Faber publishing director Joanna Mackle dies

Joanna Mackle, former publishing director at Faber and later deputy director of the British Museum, has died.  

Mackle spent 20 years at Faber, where she was first publicity director and then publishing director.

The publisher described her as “central to the publishing successes of the late 1980s and 1990s” and “instrumental in nurturing the careers of successive generations of writers”.

Robert McCrum said: "Joanna, who was famous for her hats, became an icon at an extraordinary moment in the world of books. At Faber she also achieved something that’s rare, if not unique. Among a remarkable circle of our finest authors – writers such as PD James, Kazuo Ishiguro, William Golding, Paul Auster, Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes – the part she played in bringing their work to the marketplace became the essence of what made the Faber list the one that mattered. I was lucky enough to share with her some wonderful times in those days, but none of it would have happened, or been as much fun, without Joanna."

In a statement, the company said she was “brilliant at what she did and undertook everything with vision, style and flair”.  

After leaving Faber she joined the British Museum, where she served as deputy director and played a key role in its public and cultural programme.  

Faber added: “Our thoughts are with her family and friends.”