Alice Mayhew facts for kids

Alice E. Mayhew (June 14, 1932 – February 4, 2020) was a very important American editor. She worked as a vice president and editorial director for Simon & Schuster, a big book publishing company. Alice Mayhew helped many famous authors publish their books. Some of these authors include Bob Woodward, President Jimmy Carter, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was especially known for publishing books about politics and Washington, D.C. These books often told true stories in an exciting way, like a novel. A famous example is All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

Life and Career

Alice Mayhew was born in 1932 in Brooklyn, New York City. She grew up in the Bronx. She started working at Simon & Schuster in the mid-1970s. As an editor, her job was to work with authors to make their books the best they could be. She helped shape the stories and ideas in the books.

Popularizing Political Stories

Mayhew became famous for helping to make "Washington narrative" books popular. These are true stories about politics and history, told like an adventure. In 1974, she edited All the President's Men. This book was about how journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal. The book showed how important their detective work was. It became a huge success and changed how people saw book publishing. It also made Simon & Schuster a very important publisher.

Working with Bob Woodward

Alice Mayhew worked with Bob Woodward for a very long time. They worked together on 19 books! In 2008, she helped him with his book The War Within. Ten years later, in 2018, Woodward thanked her in his book Fear: Trump in the White House. He said she was "brilliant" at helping with the book's ideas, speed, structure, and tone. When Fear came out, it sold one million copies in its first week. This made it the fastest-selling book ever for Simon & Schuster.

Her Editing Style

Alice Mayhew was known for being very careful and detailed. She loved to help authors turn real events into exciting stories. She would help them find the main ideas and themes in their books. One author, Steven Brill, said she gave him a book about the Titanic to read. He was confused because he was writing about something else. But Mayhew told him to "Think of this as a narrative form." She wanted him to learn how to tell a true story in an engaging way, just like a fictional one.

Later Years and Legacy

In 2014, Simon & Schuster celebrated its 90th anniversary. They made a list of their staff's 90 favorite books published over the years. A huge 29 of those books had been edited by Alice Mayhew! This shows how much impact she had.

Alice Mayhew was described as a tough and dedicated person. She passed away at her home in Manhattan on February 4, 2020. She was 87 years old. Her work helped many important true stories reach readers around the world.

Notable Authors