Farewell today to Ray Richards, with the funeral at Devonport naval base for the legendary publisher, literary agent and World War II fighter pilot. Family, friends and colleagues remembered a man who gave much to publishing, writers and his many friends through an extraordinary life.
Ray was a generous mentor and astute agent right to the end; we worked with him to publish the new Ross Calman edition of A.W. Reed's Favourite Māori Legends only last week - this was a title Ray had published first back in 1965!
For more about Ray's contribution to NZ publishing, refer to Gavin McLean's history of Reed Publishing, Whare Raupo (Reed, 2007), and click through to Graeme Beattie's blog.
