Robert Weil is an Executive Editor and Vice President of the publishing imprint W. W. Norton / Liveright. From 2011 to 2022 he was the Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of Liveright, succeeded by Peter J. Simon in July, 2022. He is the editor of four Pulitzer Prize winning books.

Early life and career Weil graduated from Yale College with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1977. He originally considered teaching high school before beginning his publishing career with Times Books in 1978 as an Editorial Assistant. In 1980 he moved to the former Omni Magazine. At Omni he introduced a book division, packaging and agenting science books to publishers before becoming Senior Editor at St. Martin's Press in 1988, a division of Macmillan Publishers. Weil's acquisitions at St. Martin's included Michael Wallis's Route 66, Henry Roth's tetralogy of novels called The Mercy of a Rude Stream, Oliver Stone's autobiographical novel A Child's Night Dream, and John Bayley's Elegy for Iris.

W.W. Norton & Company / Liveright Publishing In 1998, Weil moved to W.W. Norton & Company as an Executive Editor. His acquisition of most of the Patricia Highsmith backlist, which included several new volumes, in 1999, helped launch the Highsmith renaissance in the U.S. and the 2015 film Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, based on the novel The Price of Salt, as well as Highsmith's diaries, published in 2021. Weil also worked for several years with Paul McCartney (and Paul Muldoon) on the editing of McCartney's book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, published in 2021.

In 2011, Weil was named the Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of Liveright Publishing Corporation. Per a 2021 profile in Publishers Weekly, "The relaunched imprint released its first books in 2012. It started with two full-time staffers and a list of about 20 books per year, and has grown to eight staffers and about 40 books annually." During Weil's tenure as Editor-in-Chief, Liveright received four Pulitzer Prizes (among nine finalists) as well as a National Book Award (among eight nominees). The current staff of Liveright includes Peter J. Simon, Peter Miller, Gina Iaquinta, Maria Goldverg, Nick Curley, Clio Hamilton, Fanta Diallo, Maria Connors, Luke Swann, and Kevin Xue.

Additional work Beyond editing, Weil frequently lectures on writing, publishing history, and the state of American culture and literature. He has spoken in Munich, Guadalajara, Miami, Chicago, and at Yale University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Nebraska, among others. He has also written on books and publishing for various publications including The Washington Post and ArtForum.

Selected authors edited by Robert Weil

Selected works edited by Robert Weil Year Title Author Accolades1996 From Bondage (Mercy of a Rude Stream, Vol. 3) Henry Roth Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction1997 The Smell of Apples: A Novel Mark Behr Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction1998 All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery Henry Mayer Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction1999 The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White Henry Wiencek National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography1999 Elegy for Iris John Bayley New York Times BestsellerBasis for Iris (2001 film)2000 Darkness in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon Patrick Tierney Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction2003 Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales Nelson Mandela (Editor) NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children2005 Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism Geoffrey R. Stone Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History2008 The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family Annette Gordon-Reed Pulitzer Prize for HistoryNational Book Award for NonfictionFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography2008 The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British Sarah Lyall New York Times Bestseller2009 Stitches: A Memoir David Small Finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's LiteratureNew York Times Bestseller2009 The Book of Genesis Robert Crumb New York Times Bestseller2009 Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression Morris Dickstein Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism2010 Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits Linda Gordon Los Angeles Times Book Prize for HistoryThe Bancroft Prize2010 Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History Yunte Huang Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography)Edgar Award (Critical/Biographical)California Book Award (Nonfiction)2012 Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece Michael Gorra Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for BiographyFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography2012 The Social Conquest of Earth Edward O. Wilson New York Times BestsellerNew York Times Notable BookLonglisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction2012 Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story Jim Holt New York Times Bestseller Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction2013 Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures, and Innovations Mary Beard Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism2013 Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present Max Boot New York Times Bestseller2013 Karl Marx: A Nineteenth-Century Life Jonathan Sperber Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography2013 Letters to a Young Scientist Edward O. Wilson New York Times Bestseller2014 Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade Walter Kirn New York Times Bestseller2014 The Last Kind Words Saloon: A Novel Larry McMurtry New York Times Bestseller2014 The Meaning of Human Existence Edward O. Wilson New York Times BestsellerFinalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction2014 Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time Ira Katznelson The Bancroft Prize2015 The Complete Works of Primo Levi Primo Levi, translated by Ann Goldstein New York Times Notable Book2015 SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Mary Beard New York Times Bestseller Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction2015 Words Without Music: A Memoir Philip Glass New York Times Bestseller2016 Cousin Joseph: A Graphic Novel Jules Feiffer New York Times Bestseller2016 ’’Most Blessed of the Patriarchs’’: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf New York Times Bestseller2016 New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America Wendy Warren Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for HistoryNew York Times Notable Book2016 Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life Ruth Franklin National Book Critics Circle Award for AutobiographyEdgar Award (Critical/Biographical)Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-FictionNew York Times Notable Book2016 Jerusalem Alan Moore New York Times Bestseller2017 The Annotated African American Folktales Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Maria Tatar NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction2017 The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Richard Rothstein Longlisted for the National Book Award for NonfictionNew York Times BestsellerNew York Times Notable BookWinner of the Hillman Prize2017 The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea Jack E. Davis Pulitzer Prize for HistoryKirkus Prize for NonfictionFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for NonfictionNew York Times Notable Book2018 The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam Max Boot Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography2018 These Truths: A History of the United States Jill Lepore New York Times Bestseller2018 We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights Adam Winkler Shortlisted for the National Book Award for NonfictionFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for NonfictionNew York Times Notable Book2018 The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela NPR Best Books of 20182019 Audience of One: Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America James Poniewozik New York Times Notable Book2019 Inseparable: The Original Siamese Twins and Their Rendezvous with American History Yunte Huang Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography2019 Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future Pete Buttigieg New York Times Bestseller2020 Afropessimism Frank B. Wilderson III Longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction2020 The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X Les Payne and Tamara Payne National Book Award for NonfictionPulitzer Prize for BiographyNew York Times Notable Book2020 If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future Jill Lepore Longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction2020 The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War Michael Gorra New York Times Notable Book2020 Trust: America's Best Chance Pete Buttigieg New York Times Bestseller2021 On Juneteenth Annette Gordon-Reed New York Times BestsellerNew York Times 10 Best Books of the YearNew York Times Critics Best Books of 20212021 Pessoa: A Biography Richard Zenith New York Times Critics Best Books of 2021Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography2021 The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present Paul McCartney New York Times BestsellerBarnes & Noble Book of the Year2023 1964: Eyes of the Storm Paul McCartney New York Times Bestseller2023 Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World Mary Beard New York Times Bestseller2023 Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History Yunte Huang New York Times Notable BookFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography2024 Reagan: His Life and Legend Max Boot New York Times 10 Best Books of the YearNew York Times Bestseller2025 We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution Jill Lepore Pulitzer Prize for HistoryNew York Times Bestseller 2025 Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run Paul McCartney New York Times Bestseller

References

External links Ronald Collins, An Interview with Robert Weil, Washington Independent Review of Books (April 5, 2016) Virtual Memories Show 261: Robert Weil Robert Weil on Publishing Tinderbox Robert Weil on Publishing Nelson Mandela's Letters from Prison Liveright to Publish Nelson Mandela's Prison Letters An Interview with Robert Weil Liveright Publishing Corporation Robert Weil on publishing German literature Liveright and Robert Weil to Publish The Complete Works of Primo Levi Michael Dirda discusses the Complete Works of Primo Levi and Robert Weil's publishing career C-SPAN BookTV interview with Robert Weil Frank B. Wilderson III on his book Afropessimism and working with Robert Weil