Owen Laster, a literary agent with William Morris for fifty years until his retirement a few years ago (see my interview with him here), died today in Manhattan. I first knew him in the '70s, when part of my job as senior editor at Stein and Day was to take a literary agent to lunch every day. Lunch with Owen was always a high point. He loved fiction, and I thought he had great taste--because he liked the kind of stories and writing I liked. When I founded this company in 1980 and started pitching books I loved to Owen, he was more than receptive and quick to respond. And any client he took on could expect plenty of personal attention despite the size of the agency and the fame of Owen's big clients.

He talked to me about connecting with stories. He said that if we were excited about something, that was a "shortcut" for him and that if he connected with the story he might then find a publishing editor who would. I miss the connection with the connector.