James Atlas, an author, editor and patron of literary biographies who broke thorough in his 20s by writing an acclaimed book on poet Delmore Schwartz and later oversaw releases on subjects ranging from St. Augustine to Elvis Presley, has died.
Fellow biographer Anne C. Heller told The Associated Press that Atlas died Wednesday at age 70. Atlas' daughter, the literary agent Molly Atlas, said that he had been battling a long-term lung condition that worsened in recent months.
Friends and fellow writers and biographers posted online tributes, praising him as a generous supporter of other people's work.
This undated image released by Pantheon Books shows author and editor James Atlas who died Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, at age 70. (Michael LionstarPantheon Books via AP)
"He was a friend to many biographers, including me, and one of the first to encourage me to write my book about Shirley Jackson," Ruth Franklin, whose Jackson biography won a National Book Critics Circle prize, wrote on her Facebook page.
Starting in 1977 with "Delmore Schwartz: The Life of an American Poet," Atlas was a singular champion of biographies, be it those he authored himself, the books he published through the Penguin Lives series he founded in 1999 or the books he later edited for HarperCollins and W.W. Norton & Company.
Atlas turned out dozens of brief works that were credited with reviving an art form dating back to ancient times and inspiring numerous publishers to launch similar imprints. His idea was to pair prominent contemporary writers with famous figures of the past: Irish writer Edna O'Brien on James Joyce, surgeon Sherwin Nuland on Leonard da Vinci, Southern writer Bobbie Ann Mason on Presley.
One Penguin Lives work, Garry Wills' biography of St. Augustine, was praised as a revelatory account of the Christian philosopher. Atlas was also proud of recruiting the bestselling travel writer and linguist Bill Bryson for a book on Shakespeare for HarperCollins' Eminent Lives series.
"We try to elicit enthusiasms," Atlas told The Associated Press in 2008. "I sent out these missives to writers I admire, sometimes into the Internet ether and sometimes by actual post. I sent some letters to Bill Bryson and sort of forgot about it until a few months later I got this letter from him. There's one word, followed by a question mark: 'Shakespeare?'"
Besides his daughter, he is survived by his wife, Dr. Anna Fels, his son William and a grandson, Otto.
Atlas was born in Evanston, Illinois, and became interested in Schwartz as a teenager after he learned of the famously tormented poet's 1966 death, at age 52.
He continued to read Schwartz while studying at Harvard University, where his mentors included Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop, and an essay he wrote for a poetry journal in his mid-20s led to a book deal with Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
His Schwartz biography was a National Book Award finalist and Atlas' connection to the poet lasted through the following decades. In his 2017 book, "The Shadow in the Garden: A Biographer's Tale," he recalled suffering from acute depression and being "diagnosed with Delmore's main impairment, bipolarity."
Atlas' other books included the memoir "My Life in the Middle Ages" and an autobiographical novel, "The Great Pretender." The praise he received for his Schwartz biography led to his most contested work, a biography of Saul Bellow published in 2000. As Atlas recalled in the audio-only memoir "Remembering Roth," published in February, Philip Roth had sent Atlas an admiring letter after "Delmore Schwartz" came out and later suggested the book on Bellow. Working with Bellow's cooperation, Atlas spent a decade on the book and combined comprehensive research and insightful analysis with growing dismay over the author's private behavior, chastising him for misogyny and homophobia.
"If you know Bellow and aren't dead, Atlas will have talked to you. If you had an opinion but bought the farm, he's read your diaries, your F.B.I. dossier and maybe your genome," New York Times critic John Leonard wrote in 2000. "Alas, the deeper into the biography, the harder it is to recall what we admired so much in the fiction."
The book helped lead to a long estrangement with Roth, although they did reconnect before Roth's death in 2018. During their last meeting, Roth spoke of mortality, inquired about the Kindle e-book device and, because he had lost his wallet, asked Atlas to lend him money.
GUANARE, Venezuela (AP) — Freedom came too late for Edilson Torres.
The police officer was buried Tuesday in his humble, rural hometown following his death in a Venezuelan prison, where he was held incommunicado since his December detention on what his family said were politically motivated accusations. Before the service, a funeral procession stopped at a local jail, where his wife remains detained on disputed accusations.
Torres, 51, died of a heart attack on Saturday, just as his family awaited the government's promised release of prisoners following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro. His death comes as scores of families like his — who once hesitated to approach advocacy groups — are now coming forward to register their loved ones as “political prisoners.”
Alfredo Romero, director of the organization Foro Penal, a nongovernmental organization that tracks and advocates for Venezuelan prisoners, said the group has received a “flood of messages” since last week from families.
“They didn’t report it out of fear, and now they’re doing it because, in a way, they feel that there is this possibility that their families will be freed,” Romero said. “They see it as hope, but more importantly, as an opportunity.”
The head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the explosions that rocked the South American nation in the early hours of Jan. 3.
The U.S. and Venezuela's opposition have long demanded the widespread release of detained opposition figures, activists and journalists, whom they claim are used as a political tool by the ruling party.
Venezuela’s government denies that there are prisoners unjustly detained, accusing them of plotting to destabilize Maduro’s government.
Following Torres' death, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement that the case had been assigned to a terrorism unit and “was linked to criminal activities detected by state security agencies.” He did not offer any details, but the vague language tracks with past accusations leveled against real or perceived government critics.
Romero explained that of the roughly 300 families who reached out, about 100 cases so far have been confirmed as politically motivated. Most of those reported over the past few days, he said, once worked for Venezuela's military. That is on top of more than 800 people that the organization says continue to be detained for political reasons in Venezuela.
As of Tuesday evening, Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization's count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.
But the government did not provide evidence of the releases, a time range in which they were carried out nor identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.
“My little brother, my little brother,” Emelyn Torres said between sobs after his casket, cloaked in Venezuela's flag, arrived at her home for the wake. A few feet away, their grandmother nearly fainted as dozens of people crammed into the living room to pay their respects.
Hours earlier, as a minivan transported the body of her brother 267 miles (430 kilometers) from the capital, Caracas, to Guanare, Torres learned that other men linked to the WhatsApp group that led to her brother's arrest had just been released from prison. She wailed.
Among those who have been released are: human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, who immediately relocated to Spain; Biagio Pilieri, an opposition leader who was part of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado’s 2024 presidential campaign; and Enrique Márquez, a former electoral authority and presidential candidate.
Italian businessman Marco Burlò, who was released from prison Monday, told reporters outside an international airport in Rome Tuesday that he was kept isolated throughout his detention, which he characterized as a “pure and real kidnapping.”
“I can’t say that I was physically abused, but without being able to talk to our children, without the right to defense, without being able to speak to the lawyer, completely isolated, here they thought that I might have died,” he said.
The small set of releases over the past few days continues to fuel criticisms by families, human rights watchdogs at the United Nations and U.S. politicians, who have accused the government of not following through on their word of a wider release.
But the rapid political shifts in the Latin American nation and the distant possibility of release simultaneously marked a rare moment of hope for many families who have spent years wondering if their loved ones would ever be freed.
Part of the reason that Romero said he believed so many people had not come forward is the government's ongoing crackdown on dissent since Venezuela's tumultuous 2024 election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite ample credible evidence to the contrary.
As mass street protests broke out, authorities said they detained more than 2,000 people. In the month after July elections, Venezuela's government passed a law — dubbed the “anti-NGO law” by critics — making it easier for the government to criminalize human rights groups.
That had a chilling effect, Romero said, making families hesitant to come forward — until now.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Members of a motorcycle club, friends of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, carry his coffin at a cemetery in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives stand by the coffin of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, gather around his grave during his funeral in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, waits outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Relatives and friends of political prisoners hold candles calling for their loved ones to be set free outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 after the government announced prisoners would be released. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Relatives stand beside the coffin during the wake of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
El Helicoide, the headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service and detention center, stands in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Flor Zambrano, whose son, Rene Chourio, she says is detained at Zone 7 of the Bolivarian National Police for political reasons, embraces relatives of other detainees outside the facility in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A photo of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, and his family adorns his coffin during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, sit by his coffin during his wake in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Emelyn Torres leans over the casket of her brother, Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being detained on accusations of treason, during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Emelyn Torres and Maria Cristina Fernandez, the sister and grandmother of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison after being detained on accusations of treason, embrace during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
