In Memoriam

The romance publishing industry has lost one of its greatest advocates today.

In her long career of 35 years, Kate Duffy worked with Dell, Pocket Books, and Paddington Press (London) as a senior editor; editor-in-chief of Silhouette Books, Tudor Publishing, and Meteor Publishing; and editorial director at Kensington.

She was funny, irreverent, and passionate about books and writing. Watch her in action on YouTube. During an interview for A Romance Review, when Lori Foster asked her, "What’s your favorite part of being an editor?", Kate replied "The enormous paycheck. Oh, how I crack myself up. No the answer is—great writing and being the first to read it."

Author Mary Jo Putney says on Word Wenches, "[She] was a legend in the romance industry, known for her humor, her directness, her concern for authors, and her passion for the romance genre." Author Teresa Medeiros on Twitter, "From the very beginning of her career, Kate Duffy was one of the staunchest supporters of romance. She loved it as much as we do. My heart is broken! I adored Kate!" Leave it to the Squawkers to get at the heart of who Kate Duffy was with their interview by Kitty Kuttlestone.

The best tribute comes from Sarah Wendell: "She’s the Julia Child of romance!"

Kate's most famous admonishment to authors was: "Get off the Internet, and write!"