Victoria Wilson
Encyclopedia
Victoria "Vicky" Wilson is an American
publishing
executive who served on the United States Commission on Civil Rights
(USCCR) from 2000 through 2001.
and grew up on Martha’s Vineyard. She attended Goddard College
and New York's New School for Social Research. She began working at Alfred A. Knopf Publishers in 1972, and she was promoted in 1988 to Senior Editor, Vice President, and Associate Publisher. Authors she edits include Lorrie Moore
, Alice Adams
, William Gass, Meryle Secrest
and Anne Rice
.
She also held several positions at the PEN American Center
, including the Executive board and Treasurer from 1997 to 1999. She also served as Vice President of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
. She taught in the writing program at Columbia University
from 1992 to 1993.
Wilson was appointed by Bill Clinton
to the USCCR vacancy left by the 1998 death of A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Wilson voted in support of a USCCR report which found voting irregularities in Florida during the United States presidential election, 2000
. Once in office, President George W. Bush
attempted to replace Wilson with Peter Kirsanow
, but USCCR Commissioner Mary Frances Berry
refused Krisanow a seat. Bush prevailed in 2002 following a lengthy legal battle.
Wilson is a stepdaughter of Stella Adler
and has announced her plans to write a biography of Barbara Stanwyck
. Her father, physicist Mitchell Wilson, was a novelist who had a book adapted by Jean Renoir
into Woman on the Beach
. Her mother Helen was a patients' rights advocate. Her restored home was featured in the New York Times.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
executive who served on the United States Commission on Civil Rights
United States Commission on Civil Rights
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is historically a bipartisan, independent commission of the U.S. federal government charged with the responsibility for investigating, reporting on, and making recommendations concerning civil rights issues that face the nation.-Commissioners:The Commission is...
(USCCR) from 2000 through 2001.
Life and career
Wilson was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and grew up on Martha’s Vineyard. She attended Goddard College
Goddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
and New York's New School for Social Research. She began working at Alfred A. Knopf Publishers in 1972, and she was promoted in 1988 to Senior Editor, Vice President, and Associate Publisher. Authors she edits include Lorrie Moore
Lorrie Moore
Lorrie Moore is an American fiction writer known mainly for her humorous and poignant short stories.-Biography:...
, Alice Adams
Alice Adams
Alice Adams is a 1921 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Booth Tarkington. It was adapted as a film in 1923 by Rowland V. Lee and, more famously, in 1935 by George Stevens. The narrative centers around the character of a young woman, Alice Adams, who aspires to climb the social ladder and win the...
, William Gass, Meryle Secrest
Meryle Secrest
Meryle Secrest is an award-winning American biographer, primarily of American artists and art collectors.-Biography:Secrest was born in Bath, England and educated there. Her family emigrated to Canada, where she began her career as a journalist...
and Anne Rice
Anne Rice
Anne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...
.
She also held several positions at the PEN American Center
PEN American Center
PEN American Center , founded in 1922 and based in New York City, works to advance literature, to defend free expression, and to foster international literary fellowship. The Center has a membership of 3,300 writers, editors, and translators...
, including the Executive board and Treasurer from 1997 to 1999. She also served as Vice President of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr.'s revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908. The mayor believed that the new medium...
. She taught in the writing program at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
from 1992 to 1993.
Wilson was appointed by Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to the USCCR vacancy left by the 1998 death of A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Wilson voted in support of a USCCR report which found voting irregularities in Florida during the United States presidential election, 2000
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
. Once in office, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
attempted to replace Wilson with Peter Kirsanow
Peter Kirsanow
Peter N. Kirsanow is an attorney and a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He was a member of the National Labor Relations Board from January, 2006 to January, 2008. Prior to his appointment, he was a partner with the Cleveland, Ohio law firm of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan, and Aronoff...
, but USCCR Commissioner Mary Frances Berry
Mary Frances Berry
Mary Frances Berry is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and the former chairwoman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She is also the former board chair of Pacifica Radio...
refused Krisanow a seat. Bush prevailed in 2002 following a lengthy legal battle.
Wilson is a stepdaughter of Stella Adler
Stella Adler
Stella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and the The Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles with long-time protege Joanne Linville, who continues to teach and furthers Adler's legacy...
and has announced her plans to write a biography of Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
. Her father, physicist Mitchell Wilson, was a novelist who had a book adapted by Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
into Woman on the Beach
Woman on the Beach
Woman on the Beach is the seventh feature film by South Korean director Hong Sang-soo, and was released in 2006.- Plot :Film director and screenwriter Kim Jung-rae asks his friend Won Chang-wook to drive with him from the homes in Seoul to the resort town of Shinduri, on the western coast of South...
. Her mother Helen was a patients' rights advocate. Her restored home was featured in the New York Times.
External links
- Voting Irregularities in Florida During the 2000 Presidential Election: Statement of Commissioner Victoria Wilson via United States Commission on Civil Rights