Lisa A. Barnett

Some people are born to be book editors. My colleague at Heinemann, Lisa Barnett, editor extraordinaire, died late last night in Portsmouth, NH, after a lengthy struggle with cancer. The strength, courage, and positive attitude she showed during her illness was awe-inspiring and I'm having a difficult time accepting that she’s gone. Because I worked out of Los Angeles, I only met Lisa in person about a dozen times. I always tried to sit close to her during company meetings. Her intelligence about the publishing world was unparalleled and her running commentaries were priceless. From the moment I met her at a staff lunch interview in 1999, I knew that she was someone I wanted to get to know. Funny, kind, and compassionate, Lisa had that rare ability to put people at ease no matter how awkward the social situation.

Lisa Barnett was entirely responsible for Heinemann’s award-winning drama line. Even though it had little to do with my particular job, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the books that she acquired for the company. Her authors viewed her as their own Maxwell Perkins and it’s been very moving to read their heartfelt and grateful words on the website that Lisa’s longtime partner Melissa Scott set up this weekend when it was clear that Lisa was in her final stages. I was in New York going from one play to the next as Lisa’s condition worsened. I was about to email her about my trip when I returned yesterday, only to discover that she was slipping away. There was no one better to discuss theatre with than Lisa. While she didn’t invent the field of professional drama books, she certainly brought it to new levels.

Lisa was also an acclaimed novelist, writing a series of fantasy novels with Melissa that included The Armor of Light, and the two “Points” novels, Point of Hopes and the Lambda Literary Award winner Point of Dreams. These books depicted an alternate Renaissance world called Astreiant where alchemy and astrology were sciences on a level with physics and chemistry and same-sex relationships were as common and taken-for-granted as heterosexual ones. I couldn’t recommend these excellent books more highly.

Lisa was an early and consistent supporter of this blog and I am so glad that reading it inspired her to start her own blog called Pointsman in January 2005. She wrote beautifully about many topics, including her illness, and today I find myself obsessively going to her blog every few minutes, somehow hoping that there will be an entry from her new location. Why isn't that possible? How can we be deprived of such a unique voice?

My favorite evening spent with Lisa was a dinner with the Heinemann editorial staff at some fancy restaurant near Portsmouth about two years ago. We were all a little tipsy and exhausted from presenting the latest new releases to the national sales reps who were in town for a meeting. As the evening wore on, Lisa came up with the idea of presenting our books to the reps in the form of an original musical comedy, and she immediately started coming up with side-splitting parodies of popular Broadway showtunes. We all joined in and became so raucous I’m surprised we weren’t thrown out of the restaurant. I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard. A few weeks later, when most of our outrageous song ideas were long forgotten, Lisa sent a follow-up email to the other editors about planning our musical for the following summer. We all thought we were kidding that night but Lisa really wanted to do it! I wish we had.

It’s amazing how many people have mentioned how Lisa has changed their lives, whether it was through her belief in their work, her devotion to animals, or by being such a fantastic friend. What a great life she lived.

Comments

[Ambivabro]

Oy. Why does someone like this go and die, and not someone like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

[Randi(cruisin-mom)]

Danny, what a beautiful tribute to your friend. Sounds like she was an amazing person. Your words make it quite clear why she will be missed by you and all who were touched by her.

[justin kreutzmann]

very sorry to hear that, sad news indeed.

[Tamar]

Danny, this must be so, so sad for you ... all. Thank you for sharing this with us.

You are in my thoughts.

[Peggy]

Hi Danny,

What a lovely tribute to Lisa. We're shocked and saddened here at the Heinemann office. I suppose we all suspected that Lisa's battle with cancer had gone on for too long not to suspect the worst. Yet Lisa's incredibly positive outlook and our own hope that we wouldn't loose her, kept us optimistic too. I miss her. Heinemann won't be the same without her.

This is my first visit to your Blog. After reading your posting about Lisa, I read your review of Brokeback Mnt. And who was the first to reply, and so elegantly I might add? Lisa. Sigh.

Peggy

[Len Berkman]

That you are so moving as you recall such hilarity and inventiveness in Lisa's approach
to representing her books, that you open doors to our further knowledge of Lisa (e.g. as a co-fantasy writer with Melissa, in fact as a visionary)is beautiful, Danny, and of such importance to those of us who were blessed to know Lisa during her days on earth. -- Len Berkman, at the Theatre Department of Smith College

[amba]

When I read Lisa's obituary in PW I realized right away that you had to have known her. After reading about her here, I went over and read some of her blog. What a brave and life-loving and upbeat person. I wish I'd known her.

[Helena Kronick]

I enjoy reading peoples insights on my cousin Lisa. She brought so much life into everyone around her and will be missed so very much.

[Steven M. Alper]

Danny:

Many thanks for expressing what so many of us feel. I had no idea that Lisa had passed away until I received an invitation to her memorial. It was quite a shock.

Unlike you I never had the opportunity to meet Lisa, although it was something that we were always promising to arrange. I wish I had. She worked so hard so convince me to do my book, and continued to work hard all the way to publication. She was always happy to step in to help out whether it fell under her purview or not.

It's just so sad.