John Jarrold is reporting the death of Nick Webb. He was in his early 60s.
Jarrold writes on Facebook: “It’s now being mentioned that Nick Webb has died. I first knew Nick as an SF editor in the 1970s, and later he was my managing director twice, when I ran Orbit in the late 80s/early 90s and then again in 1997 when he asked me to start a new genre imprint at Simon & Schuster. Hugely knowledgeable, hugely enthusiastic, a huge, wonderful personality, and very kind to me. it seems to have been quite fast, and I hope he was not in too much pain. So long, Nick. A glass will be raised tonight… and thoughts are with his wife Susan and his daughter Catherine.”
Webb was also the author of The Dictionary of Political Bullshit (2010) and Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams.
BBC Obituary (posted 12 April 2012)
The Bookseller obituary (posted 12 April 2012)