Ann Godoff
American editor and publisher (1949–2026)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ann Leslie Godoff (July 22, 1949 – February 24, 2026) was an American editor and publisher. She was the president of Random House and the founder of Penguin Press.[1][2]
July 22, 1949
New York University (BFA)
- Editor
- publisher
Ann Godoff | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Ann Leslie Godoff July 22, 1949 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 24, 2026 (aged 76) Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Bennington College New York University (BFA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouses | Malcolm Drummond
(m. 1973; div. 1994)Annik LaFarge (m. 2012) |
Early life and education
Godoff was born in New York City on July 22, 1949, and moved with her family to Los Angeles in 1957.[1][3] She attended Beverly Hills High School and was classmates with Rob Reiner and Richard Dreyfuss.[3] Godoff studied at Bennington College in Vermont, then New York University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film in 1972.[1]
Career
In 1980, she worked part-time at Simon & Schuster before moving to Atlantic Monthly Press in 1987.[3] In 1991, Godoff started working at Random House where she developed a specialty in more subtle literary works.[3] Her first mass-market hit was In 1994 with The Alienist, written by Caleb Carr.[4] That same year, Godoff edited two other best-selling books, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt and Makes Me Wanna Holler by Nathan McCall.[5] In 1995, she edited The Haunted Land by Tina Rosenberg, which won a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award.[3] Godoff became editor-in-chief of Random House in 1997 and transformed the company's identity, turning long-shot books into runaway hits.[6]
In 2003, Godoff founded Penguin Press where she served as editor-in-chief and publisher.[7][8] Godoff was known for cultivating talent taking chances on projects she believed in, including The Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Board chairman.[1] Published in 2007, the book became a New York Times hardcover nonfiction best seller. Godoff edited authors including Ron Chernow, Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie and Thomas Pynchon.[2] She approached editing and publishing with marketing savvy, for example, launching John McCain's memoir right before his presidential run.[3] Across her career, Michael Pollan remained one of her most loyal authors. Godoff edited all of his ten books, including A World Appears, which was published in 2026.[9]
Penguin Press has published five Pulitzer Prize winners, solidifying the impact of the press on both the literary world and on culture as a whole.[10]
Personal life and death
Journalists often referenced how private Godoff was, preferring to promote her authors than herself.[3]
Godoff was briefly married to Malcolm Drummond in 1973.[11] In the 1990s, she began a life partnership with editor and author Annik LaFarge;[12] they were legally married in 2012.[11]
Godoff died of complications from appendix cancer at a hospital in Albany, New York, on February 24, 2026, at the age of 76.[1] Her impact on American book culture was described by President of Penguin Press Scott Moyers as "incalculable".[13][9]