AMALFI COAST, ITALY: Adrienne Vaughan, the president of the Bloomsbury publishing house in the US, died in a horrific boating accident on the Amalfi coast in Italy on Thursday, August 3. She was 45. Vaughan had been on a dream vacation with her husband and two children who survived the crash with injuries and shock.
Vaughan, as per a report in Daily Mail, had rented a 29-foot speedboat for a trip along the scenic coast near Naples. They collided with a 130-foot sailing yacht that was hosting a wedding party of about 85 guests from America and Germany. Vaughan was thrown overboard and fatally hit by the propellers of the boat.
Who was Adrienne Vaughan?
Adrienne Vaughan's husband, Mike White, who she married in 2008 as per her Facebook profile, was also injured and underwent surgery on his shoulder. Their children, Leanna, 14, and Mason, 11, were unharmed but traumatized by the incident. The captain of the speedboat, a 30-year-old man, failed a toxicology test and was suspected of being drunk at the time of the crash. He was also injured and taken to hospital. The driver of the wedding ship passed a toxicology test and was not found to be at fault.
Vaughan had been dreaming of visiting Italy for a long time, the publication reported. She had shared pictures of her family’s trip on social media. They had visited Rome and London before arriving at Sant’Agata dei due Golfi, where they were staying. Vaughan was a successful and respected leader in the publishing industry, having joined Bloomsbury in 2020 as an executive director and COO. She was promoted to president in 2021 and oversaw the company’s operations in the US.
Her major projects involved the Harry Potter series to 'A Promised Land' by Barack Obama
She was involved in major projects involving titles such as the 'Harry Potter' series by JK Rowling, 'The Testaments' by Margaret Atwood, 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini, 'Eat Pray Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert, 'Bel Canto' by Ann Patchett, 'Kitchen Confidential' by Anthony Bourdain, and 'A Promised Land' by Barack Obama. She also worked for Disney publishing group from 2015 to 2018 and for Oxford University Press before that. She graduated with an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. Colleagues on her LinkedIn profile described her as "goal-oriented," "charismatic" and compassionate.
'She had no arm and the back of her head was white as if no blood was flowing'
A witness of the accident, Pietro Iuzzolino, told Corriere del Mezzogiorno newspaper. “She had no arm and the back of her head was white as if no blood was flowing.” He added that the skipper of the speedboat was “vomiting” and “gave the impression he was drunk.” The wedding guests were seen throwing inflatables at the family and trying to help them after the crash. Emergency services rushed to the scene and tried to save Vaughan’s life in an ambulance and an air ambulance, but it was too late.
She is survived by her husband and children as well as her parents, siblings, and extended family. Her death has shocked and saddened many people in the literary world and beyond.
