Richard Robinson, longtime Scholastic CEO, dead at 84

Over the past decade, Robinson received an honorary National Book Award for his contributions to the literary community and was cited by PEN America for his contributions to free expression.

“Working with you and the team at Scholastic on Harry Potter has been one of the most significant and meaningful partnerships in my life,” Rowling, the British author for whom Scholastic served as the U.S. publisher of her Potter books, said in a 2019 statement provided for the PEN award. “A unique relationship exists between authors and the publishers who have supported them — and you, Dick, have supported me and my work in countless, indescribable ways.”

Scholastic also publishes such popular series as Dav Pilkey’s “Captain Underpants” and Norman Bridwell’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” and has long been established in classrooms through its clubs, newsletters and other programs, including a partnership with novelist James Patterson.

Robinson’s time at Scholastic was marked by financial ups and downs, even with the historic success of the “Harry Potter” books, and occasional battles with censors who objected to books like “Potter,” “Captain Underpants” and Alex Gino’s “George” as inappropriate for younger readers.

In an interview last year with The Associated Press, Robinson noted that Scholastic had endured through profound changes in the culture and aimed to educate readers in an even-handed way.