OBITUARY

GATES, Mark H.
Town of Middleton
Mark Henry Gates, age 57, passed away at his home on Friday, December 11, 2009 having suffered from lung cancer. He was born August 21, 1952 in Johnstown, PA to H. William and Millicent (Matthews) Gates. Upon graduating from Bethel Park (PA) High School, Mark pursued journalism studies while attending the University of Missouri (Columbia), the New School for Social Research (NYC) and the University of South Carolina (Columbia). He began a newspaper career in Waynesburg, PA working for the Democrat Messenger but was shortly lured by the bright lights of New York City where he worked on an even smaller, neighborhood paper, Wisdom’s Child. Before too long, he entered the world of advertising sales for the well-known alternative weekly paper, The Village Voice, where he was part of the team that founded the VLS, a monthly literary supplement featuring book reviews, publishing news, and book advertising. It was this entree into the publishing business coupled with his love of books and the people who write and sell them that ultimately defined his life’s work. Mark used his industry contacts to move into the selling end of the book business, where he called on bookstores representing publishers and their authors. Among the dozens of publishers he represented over the years, the mainstays were Farrar, Straus & Giroux, whose authors include 21 Nobel laureates, and Henry Holt and Company, one of the oldest US publishers founded in 1866. Mark fancied himself as one of a vanishing breed of book “sales professionals” whose loyalty was divided equally between his publishers and his clients, independent bookstore owners, and he found great joy in cultivating rich and lasting personal friendships with his co-workers, the bookstores and authors. With tongue-in-cheek, he referred to himself as “the Willy Loman of the book trade” and claimed more benefit and conviviality in taking a client to lunch than in filling out a sales report. He once declared “There is no passion in a spreadsheet.” In 2006, he received one of the highest honors in the business end of books when he was named Sales Representative of the Year by Publishers Weekly, the influential bible of the publishing industry. Besides his passion for books and reading, he delighted in entertaining and enjoying the company of his wide circle of friends. A reasonably good cook, he thoroughly enjoyed fine food, mediocre wine and engaging conversation and relished spinning tales to a captive audience while holding court. He inherited his political leanings from his parents and was quick to proudly label himself a “Liberal with a capital-L”, supporting a host of progressive causes with donations and the occasional letter to the editor. A sensitive soul, he had a strong fondness for animals and torch singers and was as likely to shed a tear listening to Puccini as Peggy Lee. Mark was a kind and beautiful man who will be sorely missed by so many. He is survived by Stephen Myck, his partner of 27 years; his brother, Geoffrey (Susan) of Overland Park, KS; his niece, Kristen (Michael Rhorer) of Okemos, MI; his nephew, Matthew of Overland Park; and many other family and friends and fine authors and book people. No flowers please. Memorial gifts may be made to the Dane County Humane Society (www.giveshelter.org) or the Wisconsin Book Festival (www.wisconsinbookfestival.org). A memorial service/good-bye party in Madison will be held at a future date.

Tributes

Above: A tribute published in the December 21, 2009 issue of Publishers Weekly Magazine.

Publishers Weekly: Dec. 14, 2009

Shelf Awareness: Dec. 14, 2009

Paper Over Board: Dec. 14, 2009

Boswell and Books: Dec. 15, 2009

Huffington Post: Dec. 21, 2009

Wisconsin State Journal: Dec. 30, 2009