Betty A. Prashker of Greenport, Water Mill and New York City, Dies July 30 - 27 East

Betty A. Prashker of Greenport, Water Mill and New York City, Dies July 30

icon 1 Photo
Betty A. Prashker

Betty A. Prashker

authorStaff Writer on Aug 8, 2024

Betty A. Prashker, a book editor who broke through the glass ceiling in the post-World War II, male-dominated publishing industry, died on July 30, at a family home in Alford, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. She was 99.

During her career, she led the editorial department first at Doubleday and then went on to become editor-in-chief and senior vice president at the Crown Publishing Group. Prashker was one of a very few women who held an executive position at a publishing house at a time when feminism was in its infancy.

Born in New York City in 1925 to Ellis Arnoff and Lillian Burger Arnoff, she fell in love with books at a very young age when confined for a year to a wheelchair with rheumatic fever. She attended the Dalton School and graduated from Vassar College in 1945, where she was known for climbing out of her dorm room window after curfew for fun with friends, cocktails and conversation.

Known as an aggressive editor who could land and retain important authors, Prashker had an uncanny ability to recognize and maneuver around obstacles. She edited iconic books of the women’s movement, including Kate Millett’s “Sexual Politics” in 1970 and, two decades later, Susan Faludi’s “Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women.” Her authors included Isaac Asimov, Brooke Astor, Jean Auel, Dave Barry, Ann Beattie, Marie Brenner, Dominick Dunne, Stephen King, Judith Krantz, Eric Larson, Cathi Pelletier, Gay Talese, and Tommy Thompson.

She edited over 500 published books, with many dozens of those listed on the New York Times Bestseller List. In 1998, Prashker was named by Vanity Fair as one of 200 Women Legends, Influencers and Trailblazers.

Even after becoming the editorial director at Doubleday, Prashker had to battle barriers to the inner sanctums of the “old boys club” of publishing. In 1978, after noticing that her male editors were expensing their lunches at the male-only Century Club, sitting at a long table with authors like Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Rovere, she asked her boss, Ken McCormick, to nominate her, which he did.

Her nomination was endorsed by six members of the Century, including William F. Buckley Jr., an author with whom she had worked. The response was: “the Century is an organization founded by gentlemen for the pleasure of the gentlemen, and therefore Ms. Prashker’s nomination is moot.”

The Century’s discriminatory policy was later made unlawful by a New York City law that prohibited discrimination by private clubs meeting certain size and service standards, a law that withstood a challenge by the New York State Club Association in the United States Supreme Court.

When asked in an interview whether she ever resurrected the letters of recommendation after the Century was forced to allow women to join, Prashker said no, “it was the Groucho Marx idea. The important thing to do was to desegregate the place.”

She loved the Hamptons and the South Fork of Long Island, where she spent the majority of her post-retirement years. She remained active with such activities as playing tennis, taking Italian lessons, nurturing a great circle of friends, and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She was a fiercely competitive tennis player with an infuriating propensity for well-placed lobs and killer drop shots. She took great pride in her classic beach home in Water Mill, her flower gardens, her porch, and the hammock in her backyard.

She was a regular patron of the Metropolitan Opera. Her sardonic quick wit was legendary, as was her storytelling, her ability to quote verses of poetry, rattle off sentences in French or Italian, or talk politics, about which she was passionate throughout her life. Everyone wanted her around their dinner table.

During her later years, she downsized to an apartment in Greenport, on the North Fork, where she lived independently until shortly before her death.

She is survived by three daughters, Susan P. (Geoffrey) Herman of Mount Vernon, Maine, Lucy (Thomas Curtin) Prashker of Alford, Massachusetts, and Marti P. Murray of East Hampton; six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; nieces; nephews; and many friends.

You May Also Like:

Southampton Animal Shelter Working To Make Life Better for Bunnies

Over the years, common knowledge and accepted ideas about the best ways to care for ... 12 Jul 2025 by Cailin Riley

Scuttlehole Road Closed After Crash Friday

Scuttlehole Road in Bridgehampton has been closed following a car accident. Southampton Town Police and emergency responders are on the scene. The road is expected to be closed for a significant period of time Friday afternoon. 11 Jul 2025 by Staff Writer

A Trailblazer: Professor Karl Grossman Retires, but the Work Continues

Inside The Cleveland Press newsroom of the 1960s, one word sent Karl Grossman running: “Copy!” ... by Michelle Trauring

Federal Funding for Public Media Is Close to Becoming a Thing of the Past | 27Speaks Podcast

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on May 1 instructing the Corporation for Public ... 10 Jul 2025 by 27Speaks

Developer Proposes 40 Affordable Apartments, Retail Stores in Riverside, Seeks $2.4M Grant From Southampton

An affordable housing developer who has worked with Southampton and East Hampton towns on several ... by Michael Wright

Korey Williams, Longtime Teacher and Lifetime Westhampton Beach Hurricane, Retires After 32 Years

Some teachers spend their entire career at one school. For a select few, they spend ... 9 Jul 2025 by Dan Stark

Let's Make a Deal

Since his swearing-in in January 2023, U.S. Representative Nick LaLota hasn’t faced a series of votes that rivaled the recent domestic spending package, which he played a significant role in pushing through Congress and onto President Donald Trump’s desk. It gave him a notable win: He proudly says he delivered on his promise to 1st District voters that he would get a reprieve on the federal government’s cap on the state and local tax deduction, or SALT. Ultimately, that’s true, with an asterisk. But it’s fair for voters to ask: At what price? Did a single-minded focus on this goal ... by Editorial Board

Stony Brook Medicine, UnitedHealthcare Reach New 3-Year Deal To Maintain Coverage

Stony Brook Medicine and UnitedHealthcare have inked a new three-year contract that will maintain coverage of visits to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and Meetinghouse Lane Medical physicians for those with UnitedHealthcare or Oxford insurance plans. The agreement was announced just a day before the expiration of a temporary extension of the previous agreements announced in June, when the state’s largest insurer began notifying its customers that Stony Brook’s hospitals and doctors would be out of network coverage soon. “There will be no interruption in coverage for any of our United/Oxford patients,” Stony Brook announced in a statement this week. “We ... by Michael Wright

GOP-Backed Candidates Knock Democrats Off Working Families Party Line in Primary Shake-Up

Absentee ballots that came in after last month’s primary voting bumped Democratic Party candidate Tom Neely from the Working Families Party line for the November ballot. Even though Neely had a one-vote lead after ballots from early voting and the June 17 primary day were tallied, 11 additional absentee ballots, which all went to challengers Ieshia Galicia and Andrew Smith, put the two first-time political candidates over the top for the tiny party’s line with 23 and 21 votes, respectively. A Working Families Party challenger to the Working Families Party’s official endorsement for town clerk, Mark Bernardo, had trailed his ... by Michael Wright

PSEG 'Storm Hardening' Power Lines in East Quogue This Summer

Crews from PSEG-Long Island will be conducting “storm-hardening” work on electrical transmission lines and circuits in East Quogue throughout the remainder of the summer as part of the company’s Power On initiative to improve reliability and resiliency in the face of severe storms. Crews will be replacing and upgrading mainline circuits along Spinney Road between Lewis Road and Serenity Place, along Lewis Road between Old Country Road and Quogue-Riverhead Road and on Damascus Road. The work is expected to take about two months to complete, PSEG said. “PSEG Long Island is committed to strengthening the electric infrastructure and improving reliability ... by Staff Writer