Lloyd John O'Neil AM (17 July 1928 - 27 February 1992) was an Australian publisher. He was involved with a number of different publishing firms and

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

s during his career. He served as president of the Australian Book Publishers Association from 1969 to 1971.

Early life and education

Lloyd John O'Neil was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

on 17 July 1928, the son of Eunice Ellen (née Lloyd) and Louis Joseph O'Neil. His father was a

wool classer Wool classing is the production of uniform, predictable, low-risk lines of wool, carried out by examining the characteristics of the wool in its raw state and classing (grading) it accordingly. Wool classing is done by a wool classer. Basis for ...

and his mother was a professional pianist. He attended

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is a private, co-educational, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield Grammar began admitting girls exactly ...

until 1944.

Career

After leaving school, O'Neil moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and began working with

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

as a

buyer Procurement is the process of locating and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. The term may also refer to a contractual o ...

, becoming head of art books. He left Angus & Robertson in 1951 and the following year joined Cassell as a travelling salesman. Settling in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, in 1955 he was recruited by bookseller Brian Clouston to run schoolbook publisher Jacaranda Press. He left Jacaranda in 1959 and moved back to Melbourne to establish his own company, Lansdowne Press. O'Neil sold Lansdowne Press to F. W. Cheshire in 1963 and took up a management position. He was one of the first Australian publishers to print books offshore, which significantly reduced printing costs. Cheshire was in turn sold in 1964 to a joint venture between the British firm

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and Australian printing firm Wilke and Co. Ltd. O'Neil succeeded Cheshire's founder

Frank Cheshire Frank Cheshire (1896–1987) was an Australian bookseller and publisher.John Hetherington,Publishing Venture Born Out of 1939 Upheaval: Australia's Publishing Houses (2), ''The Age'', 23 February 1963, p. 18.McEwen government as deputy chairman of the newly created National Literature Board of Review, to advise the

Minister for Customs and Excise The Minister for Home Affairs is the minister in the Australian government responsible for the Department of Home Affairs, the country's interior ministry. The current minister is Tony Burke of the Labor Party, who has held the position since ...

on literary censorship. He remained on the board of review until 1976 and was also president of the Australian Book Publishers Association (ABPA) from 1969 to 1971. O'Neil resigned from Cheshire in 1969. He subsequently established Lloyd O'Neil Pty Ltd, which initially partnered with

Golden Press Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin, best known for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also ...

and

Rigby Ltd Rigby Limited was an Australian book publisher, based in Adelaide. Their output consisted largely, but not exclusively, of Australian subjects, especially non-fiction, by Australian writers and artists. History The founder William Charles Rigby ( ...

to make use of their distribution networks. He printed a wide range of titles, including an ''

Australian Women's Weekly ''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known simply as ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Are Media in Sydney and founded in 1933. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before bein ...

'' cookbook, a popular road atlas, a travel guide, a birdwatching guide, and an educational series. In partnership with John Currey, O'Neil printed new editions of a number of out-of-print Australian titles. He reportedly published "more than 1000 Australian titles" during his career. In 1987, O'Neil sold his company to

Penguin Books Australia Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

. He subsequently joined Penguin's board and was given control of a new

, Viking O'Neil.

Personal life

O'Neil married Janet Twigg-Patterson in 1953, with whom he had four daughters. The couple separated in 1973 and divorced in 1978. The following year, he married fellow publisher Anne O'Donovan, with whom he had a son and a daughter. His youngest child

Clare O'Neil Clare Ellen O'Neil (born 12 September 1980) is an Australian politician who is the Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness since July 2024, Minister for Cities since May 2025 and was the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister f ...

was elected to federal parliament in 2013, while another daughter Helen O'Neil has served as executive director of the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and on the board of the

Film Finance Corporation Australia The Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) was the government agency responsible for funding commercial productions of Australian film, documentary, and television from 1988 to 2008. Unlike other publicly funded organisations responsible for f ...

Death and legacy

O'Neil was diagnosed with

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

in 1987. He was appointed

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) in 1991 and died on 27 February 1992 at the age of 63. Following his death, the ABPA established the

Lloyd O'Neil Award The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) are publishers' and literary awards held by the Australian Publishers Association (APA) annually in Australia since 2001. The awards celebrate "the achievements of authors and publishers in bringing Au ...

in his honour, later presented at the

Australian Book Industry Awards The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) are publishers' and literary awards held by the Australian Publishers Association (APA) annually in Australia since 2001. The awards celebrate "the achievements of authors and publishers in bringing Au ...

, for "exceptional long service to the industry".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeil, Lloyd 1928 births 1992 deaths Businesspeople from Melbourne People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Deaths from colorectal cancer in Australia Members of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian publishers (people) Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state)