No doubt many of you have heard by now, Mark Carroll recently passed away of cardiovascular disease at age 86. As anyone who has been in DC publishing circles long enough will tell you, Mark was a giant among us, and he will be greatly missed.
Mark graduated from Harvard University in 1950. After stints with the
Boston Post and radio station WORL in Boston, he worked at Yale University Press but eventually returned to his alma mater. He directed Harvard University Press from 1968 to 1972, when he moved his family to Bethesda, MD, and became chief of professional publications for the National Park Service. In 1986, he became director of the George Mason University (GMU) Press.
Mark was one of the creators of Washington Book Publishers, and he served as our first leader (then called secretary rather than president). He also served on the boards of numerous other professional organizations, including the Association of American University Presses and the Association of American Publishers. In addition to his work with the Park Service and then GMU, he also acted as a consultant to many publishing programs in the area, including the Woodrow Wilson Center and Georgetown University Press. It is perhaps no accident that both of those institutions later produced WBP presidents (Joe Brinley and Richard Brown, respectively). Mark remained for many of us a source of knowledge and, indeed, inspiration as we work together to figure out this crazy but important and rewarding endeavor we call book publishing. In 2007, WBP created the Mark A. Carroll Award for outstanding service to the local publishing industry; Dawn Leland was the first recipient.
Mark leaves behind Jane, his wife of 57 years; three children and two grandchildren; an impressive body of work; and a legacy of service to education, publishing, and the written word. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to his family and his many friends, and we say: Thank you, Mark.
�Chris Kelaher
