birth_place birth_date article_title name occupation
united states 1926 robert loomis
 robert loomis book editor
robert loomis

robert loomis -lrb- born 1926 -rrb- is a book editor ; he worked at random house from 1957 to 2011 .
he has been called `` one of publishing 's hall of fame editors . ''
many of loomis ' authors had worked with him for decades , including maya angelou , who wrote 31 books under his editorship , beginning her first autobiography , `` i know why the caged bird sings '' -lrb- 1969 -rrb- .
his authors ' loyalty to him and him to them was almost legendary .
loomis represented `` the classic mold of the editor '' and according to random house , he `` embodied the ideal of an old-fashioned editor : understated , but uncanny ; polite , but persistent '' .
as angelou said , loomis `` knows what i hope to achieve in all my work .
i do n't know anybody as fierce , simply fierce , but he 's as tender as he 's tough . ''
he was well known as a mentor to editors and writers in all areas of the publishing industry .
other notable authors who have been edited by loomis include calvin trillin , edmund morris -lrb- who wrote '' '' , the `` controversial '' biography of us president ronald reagan -rrb- , shelby foote , jonathan harr , and anchorman jim lehrer .
he edited the vietnam war epic , `` a bright shining lie '' , by neil sheehan , which won both the pulitzer prize and the national book award , and in 1998 , the novel he edited for pete dexter , `` paris trout '' , earned the national book award , `` an unprecedented feat in editing . ''
loomis and author william styron had known each other since they were both students at duke university , where loomis was styron 's editor at duke 's student magazine .
loomis went on to edit all of styron 's books except `` lie down in darkness , '' his first novel .
loomis is married to hilary mills , who wrote a biography about norman mailer .
he is a certified pilot .
