Nina Bourne

Nina Bourne (1916–2010) was a publishing executive for more than 70 years for both Simon & Schuster and Alfred A. Knopf. Nina was known for her marketing and advertising campaigns for many books including Catch-22 and the Eloise series of children's books.

Early and Personal Life

Nina Bourne was born on June 16, 1916 in Warsaw and arrived in New York when she was 5 years old. Bourne attended the Fieldston School and Radcliffe, where she graduated with a Bachelors in 1937.[1]

Bourne did not marry but "adopted" many of her friend's children as her own.[2]

Career

Bourne began her career at Simon & Schuster by writing an application letter in the form of a poem that incorporated the names of the publisher's top authors and bestselling book titles. Her first position was as a secretary to co-founder Richard Simon. Working with Jack Goodman she developed a flair for writing advertising copy. After Goodman's death in 1957 Bourne took over writing The Inner Sanctum, a news-like advertorial that appeared in both the New York Times Book Review and Publishers Weekly. In 1966, Bourne was appointed vice-president of advertising for Simon & Schuster.[1]

Nina Bourne worked with editor Robert Gottlieb and along with Gottlieb and Editor Anthony Schulte created ad campaigns for many blockbuster titles including the Power Broker, Catch-22, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, The Chosen and The American Way of Death. Bourne created the advertising campaign for Kay Thompson's Eloise books. Bourne's campaign for Catch-22 beginning in 1961 is now considered to be a classic for both advertising and publishing students. A deep champion for the book, Bourne placed large advertisements that reported on its progress in the marketplace with a listing of prominent authors who praised the book and also quoting reviews from ordinary readers.This campaign continued for over a year reporting with progress reports to the past and future readers and even included a Happy Birthday notice. Through word-of-mouth and the print ad sales for the book. The hardcover only sold 35,000 in its first print run but picked up steam when published in paperback. The paperback sold almost a million copies by 1962.[3] Of Catch-22, Bourne said to Gottlieb, "I'm like the demented governess who thinks the baby is her own."[2]

In 1968, Gottlieb, Bourne and Schulte moved to Alfred A. Knopf where Bourne remained vice-president until 2009. At Knopf, Bourne developed their brand featuring large, clean, heavily bordered ads in black and white with minimal copy.[1]

Aside from her career in publishing, Bourne occasionally published light verse in the New Yorker.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Grimes, William (14 April 2010). "Nina Bourne is Dead at 93; Catapulted Sales of 'Catch-22'". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 Fischer, Molly (21 May 2010). "With Nina Bourne's Death, Mourning an Era". The Observer. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  3. ↑ Greenfield, Josh (3 March 1968). "22 Was Funnier Than 14". nytimes. The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
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