Sonny Mehta, the longtime publisher of the Random House imprint Alfred A. Knopf, died Monday of complications from pneumonia, the publisher announced. He was 77.
The head of Knopf since 1987, Mehta published the work of nine Nobel Prize winners, memoirs by both George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton as well as popular best-sellers such as Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park,” E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” and Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
“Mehta’s contributions to the world of letters and publishing are without precedent,” the publisher said in a statement. “His exacting standards — in editorial, production, design, marketing, and publicity — were a beacon to the book industry and beyond.”