Death of Rivers Scott

Former literary editor, publisher and agent Rivers Scott has died at the age of 92.

After war service, including time as a prisoner of war in Italy, Scott worked on the Peterborough column at the Daily Telegraph before becoming literary editor of the Sunday Telegraph on its foundation in 1961. After 20 years at the Telegraph, he joined Hodder and Stoughton, working there - mainly in non-fiction publishing - for three years before joining Sir James Goldsmith's Now magazine as literary editor in 1979. A brief period as literary editor the The Mail on Sunday followed, before he went into partnership with Gloria Ferris in 1981 to establish the Scott Ferris Associates literary agency.

Scott's niece Julia Jones said: "The three years he spent as head of non-fiction publishing at Hodder and Stoughton remain a period to which he looked back with particular pleasure. He also derived great satisfaction from his partnership with Gloria Ferris at the Scott Ferris literary agency.

"He was a charming, kindly, self-effacing man and I would suggest that his lasting memorial will be in the thousands of books, particularly non-fiction titles, which were variously eased into the world either by his shrewd choice of reviewer or his careful negotiation with publishers and, above all, by his own lucid, unobtrusive editorial skills."

The funeral will be on June 9th at 11a.m. at the Brompton Oratory, London SW7.