Profile chairman Nick Perren dies

“Publisher’s publisher” and Profile Books chairman Nick Perren has died aged 68 after a long illness.

Perren had also been the non-executive director of Waterstones since 2011 and the chairman of Laurence King Publishing and a director of Messaggerie Italiane Gruppo and Il Saggiatore in Italy. He was also the chairman of William Reed Holding Ltd.

Prior to this Perren was m.d. of John Murray until leading the sale of the company to Hachette in 2002.

Profile Books m.d Andrew Franklin said: “Nick Perren was a real publisher’s publisher.  Perhaps he was not widely known outside the booktrade, but he was the perfect insider.  He had an encyclopedic knowledge of the international world of books and knew everyone.  He cared passionately about the health of the booktrade and the people who work in it.”

Franklin added that Perren was “pivotal” to the publisher’s success at Profile and was “a real force for good”.  

James Daunt, m.d of Waterstones, called Perren “a true friend”.

“Nick… was instrumental to the successful turnaround at Waterstones over this period. His judgement of a rapidly changing market proved to be consistently insightful, and the manner of his guidance always hugely supportive," he said. "He was a true friend.”

Meanwhile, Laurence King, m.d and founder of Laurence King Publishing, where Perren was chairman for 13 years, said: “His contribution was immense. He was a man of great sympathy and kindness, with a real appreciation of people’s capabilities, as well as the difficulties they faced.  This would not stop him challenging sloppy or complacent thinking whenever he encountered it. He also had a terrific sense of fun, which meant that all over the world, one met people who had a special regard and affection for him. He will be greatly missed.”

Perren had also served on the Publishers Association (PA) Council as the UK PA representative to the Federation of European Publishers and the International Publishers Association. He is survived my his wife Roberta.

His funeral will take place on Friday 5th August at St John’s Wood Parish Church at 11.00am.  A memorial for him will be held in the autumn.