James Laughlin (1914–1997) founded New Directions in 1936 while still a student at Harvard. He wrote and compiled more than a dozen books of poetry as well as stories and essays; seven volumes of his correspondence with his authors are available from W.W. Norton. Peter Glassgold is the former editor in chief of New Directions. Born in New York City in 1927, Griselda Ohannessian studied to be a pianist at Barnard College and has been associated with New Directions Publishing since 1956. She was the President and Managing Director when she retired in 2005, and she is still a member of the New Directions Board of Directors.
