In his roles as President since 1974, CEO since 1975, and Chairman since 1982, Robinson built Scholastic into the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, with $1.6 billion in annual sales.
Scholastic has also helped other graphic novel publishers reach kids through the 125,000 book fairs it holds in U.S. schools each year. By the mid-00s, we were hearing of orders for hundreds of thousands of copies of the graphic novel titles lucky enough to be selected for Scholastic Book Fairs (see "Manga Display Space Growing").
Scholastic’s young adult fiction has also had a big impact on the business of geek culture, most notably the Hunger Games and Harry Potter series, which were adopted into blockbuster film series.
"Dick was a true visionary in the world of children’s books and an unrelenting advocate for children’s literacy and education with a remarkable passion his entire life," the Scholastic Board of Directors said in a statement accompanying the announcement. "The Company’s directors and employees, as well as the many educators, parents and students whose lives he touched, mourn his loss."
Until an interim CEO is appointed by the Board of Directors, the company will be run by its lead independent director and the management team under a pre-authorized continuity plan.
