Patricia Schartle Myrer

Patricia Schartle Myrer (1923–2010) was an editor, literary agent and publishing executive based in New York City. She was editor-in-chief of Appleton-Century-Crofts publishing. She eventually became president of McIntosh & Otis literary agency. She married novelist Anton Myrer in 1970. Some of the authors she represented were Mary Higgins Clark, Patricia Highsmith and Eleanor Hibbert. She retired in 1984 and died in 2010.

Patricia Schartle Myrer
Born
Patricia Schartle

(1923-05-21)21 May 1923
Died26 June 2010(2010-06-26) (aged 87)
Saugerties, New York, United States
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina
OccupationEditor, Literary agent, Publishing executive
Spouse(s)Anton Myrer

Personal life

Patricia Schartle grew up in Asheville, North Carolina. Her father was a drug wholesaler. She was the youngest of seven children. In 1942, at the age of 19, she married a submarine sailor, who was killed in the Second World War six months later. After graduation from the University of North Carolina with a degree in English Literature, she moved to New York City in 1947 to start her career in publishing.[1] While working as a literary agent, she divided her time between an apartment in Brooklyn Heights and a farmhouse in the Catskills.

Schartle initially met novelist Anton Myrer in 1957 and became his literary agent.[1] She is credited with helping him shape three of his novels into best-sellers: The Big War, The Last Convertible and Once an Eagle. She is also credited with selling the movie rights of The Big War (which was made into the 1958 film, In Love and War) and The Last Convertible (which was made into a TV mini-series in 1979). They got married in 1970, after which she changed her name to Patricia Schartle Myrer.[1] While working as a literary agent, she divided her time between an apartment in Brooklyn Heights and a farmhouse in the Catskills.[1]

Anton Myrer died on January 19, 1996 of leukemia[2] at the age of 73. He was survived by Patricia, his widow. The couple had no children.[3][4]

In March 1997, Patricia Schartle Myrer donated $25,000 to the New York Society Library in memory of her husband who had received books from the library by mail at his home in Saugerties in upstate New York.[5] She also donated case leather-bound volumes of six of his eight novels to the library.

In 1997, Patricia Schartle Myrer donated funds to the United States Army War College Foundation and the republication rights to her husband's novel Once An Eagle.[6]

Patricia Schartle Myrer died in 2010 at her home in Saugerties, New York.[7]

Career

Schartle joined the Appleton-Century company in 1947 where she eventually held every position in the company, including advertising director. In 1954, she became its editor-in-chief, a position never before held by a woman in the world of New York publishing.

In 1958 Schartle became a partner in New-York based agency Constance Smith Associates. In 1963 Constance Smith retired and the agency merged with McIntosh & Otis, a literary agency based in New York City. Schartle became President of the combined agency, a position she held till her retirement in 1984.[1]

Authors represented

Eleanor Hibbert

In 1948, Schartle became Eleanor Hibbert's first editor when she worked on her very first Jean Plaidy book Beyond the Blue Hills (1947). In 1960 Schartle helped to revive the Gothic romance genre when she persuaded Eleanor Hibbert to write a new series of novels under the name Victoria Holt.[8]

"She started my career as a bestseller. I've heard she's the best agent in the U.S., which would mean the world, wouldn't it?"
—Eleanor Hibbert[1]

Mary Higgins Clark

In 1956 Schartle met novelist Mary Higgins Clark through a writer's workshop and became her literary agent for twenty years until her retirement. Schartle and Higgins Clark became such good friends that Higgins Clark named her fifth and last child Patricia Mary for their "winning combination".[9]

"Pat invited me to come in to her office. When I arrived, she announced she had decided to represent me. She was a young agent. I was a young writer. Being taken on by her proved to be the kindness of the gods."
—Mary Higgins Clark[9]

Patricia Highsmith

Patricia Highsmith appointed Patricia Schartle as her literary agent in 1959, when Schartle was with Constance Smith Associates. After Constance Smith Associates merged with McIntosh & Otis in 1963, Schartle continued as Patricia Highsmith's American literary agent. A. M. Heath served as Patricia Highsmith's British agents. Over time, Patricia Highsmith came to resent the 5% commission each literary agency took. Patricia Schartle Myrer fired Highsmith as her client in 1979.[10][11]

Noah Gordon

In 1965 Schartle helped Noah Gordon become a serious novelist by getting him a book contract with a publishing firm after he submitted an outline for a novel to Schartle.[12] It was at Schartle's suggestion that Gordon then wrote the Cole trilogy, a series of books about the dynasty of a single family over many generations.[13]

Bibliography
  • America Remembers: Our Best-Loved Customs and Traditions (1956, ISBN 1-135-42923-5, Hanover House, Hardcover, 669 pages) by Samuel Rapport (Editor), Patricia Schartle (Editor)

References
  1. Nannie Collins (July 24, 1978). "Tony Myrer Wrote 'The Last Convertible'—Then His Wife, Pat, Sold It". People Magazine. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  2. "Anton Myrer from HarperCollins". Harper Collins. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
  3. Mel Gussow (January 23, 1996). "Anton Myrer, 73, Whose Novels Focused on War and Nostalgia". New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  4. "Anton Myrer; Author of 'Once an Eagle' and 'The Last Convertible'". "Los Angeles Times. January 26, 1996. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  5. Barbara H. Stanton (June 1997). "Gift in Memory of Anton Myrer" (PDF). New York Society Library Newsletter Vol.4, #3. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  6. Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, U.S. Army (Ret.) (December 18, 2013). "O! The damage 'Once an Eagle' has done to my Army -- and yes, it is partly my fault". Foreign Policy. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  7. "Patricia Myrer Obituary". Tributes.com. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  8. "Love & History - a Perfect Match". Publishers Weekly. Nov 12, 2001. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  9. Higgins Clark (November 19, 2002). Kitchen Privileges: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. p. 107. ISBN 0743206053. Pat had been a senior editor before becoming an agent, and when I turned in a story to her, she made me rewrite and rewrite until she felt I had it in shape. That process continued for nearly twenty years, until Pat retired. Our last child is named Patricia Mary after a winning combination.
  10. Kera Bolonik (November 20, 2003). "Murder, She Wrote". The Nation. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  11. Joan Schenkar (2011-01-04). The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith. ISBN 978-0312363819. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  12. "Noah Gordon Biodata". Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  13. Noah Gordon (Jun 5, 2012). The Physician. Open Road Media. ISBN 9781453263747. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
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