Peter Usborne, the founder of the children’s books publisher Usborne and the co-founder of Private Eye magazine, has died aged 85, the publisher has announced.
He died “unexpectedly but peacefully” surrounded by his family this morning, the Bookseller reported.
Usborne founded his publishing house in 1973 and in February this year received a CBE for his services to literature from King Charles at Windsor Castle.
The publisher said in a statement: “Peter was, in the truest sense of the word, a genius – his brilliance was matched only by his determination to make books accessible to all children.
“This determination was fuelled by his passion for ‘doing things better’ than any other children’s book publisher, matched with a childlike energy and curiosity that made him light up every room he stepped into.
“He was an exceptional publisher, an inspirational leader and a very kind, generous man who will be sorely missed by everyone who was lucky enough to know him.”
Usborne is survived by his wife, Wendy, children Nicola and Martin, and five grandchildren.
His daughter, Nicola Usborne, the managing director of Usborne, said: “I am heartbroken that my beloved dad died this morning. We will miss him more than I can say.
“He was a brilliant, ever-curious, ever-enthusiastic man – who was also very kind, very generous and honourable and principled to his core. He was the best dad I could imagine.
“He always joked that he intended never to die, and we all hoped he would have many more years. We take some solace in the fact that he had such a very full life right up until the end.”
In November, Usborne Publishing signed a distribution agreement with HarperCollins to supply titles to American speciality retailers, schools and libraries.
“He spent his very last day yesterday in the office in a whole-day meeting with HarperCollins US talking about the US trade channel expansion that he was so excited by,” Nicola Usborne added.
“He had travelled into his beloved office by tube – as he always did. He was living his life as he always wanted to. He never ever understood why anyone would want to retire, and he would have been so pleased that he never, even remotely, did.”
Usborne’s CBE came 12 years after he received an MBE for services to the publishing industry and, in 2015, he received the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award.
