Susan Allison is an editor-in-chief and vice president at the

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scienc ...

and

Berkley Books Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berk ...

imprints Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

, which are part of the

Penguin Group (USA) Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initiall ...

publishing company. In 1984 she published

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

’s

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

Neuromancer ''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. Considered one of the earliest and best-known works in the cyberpunk genre, it is the only novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and ...

, and

Guy Gavriel Kay Guy Gavriel Kay (born November 7, 1954) is a Canadian writer of fantasy fiction. The majority of his novels take place in fictional settings that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Jus ...

’s first novel,

The Summer Tree ''The Summer Tree'' is a 1984 novel written by Canadian fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay and the first novel of ''The Fionavar Tapestry'' trilogy. Plot summary The books opens in our own world, at the University of Toronto, where the five main cha ...

. Both of these authors are still edited by her, now for Penguin Random House. Her authors also include bestselling author

Laurell K. Hamilton Laurell Kaye Hamilton (born February 19, 1963) is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is best known as the author of two series of stories. Her The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times''-bestselling ''Anita Blake: Vampire H ...

and

Lee Smith Lee Smith is the name of: Arts, entertainment and media *Lee Smith (fiction author) (born 1944), American author of fiction *Lee Smith (film editor) (born 1960), Australian film editor *Lee Smith (musician) (born 1983), American drummer *Lee Smith ...

. She became editor-in-chief in 1982, and was made a vice-president in 1985. She was a guest of honor of the 1990

World Fantasy Convention The World Fantasy Convention is an annual science fiction convention, convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the event. Other features include an art sh ...

. She is credited on the National Advisory Board for ''Poetry for Students; Volume 23.'' She is described as being a head librarian for the Lewiston Highschool, as well as a standards committee chairperson for the Maine School Library Programs. On May 13, 2015, she announced her retirement effective 1 July, after 33 years at the company and more than 40 years in publishing.

References

Science fiction editors Living people American speculative fiction publishers (people) American speculative fiction editors Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-editor-stub