Sylvia Whitman (2) (1981–)

Whitman is the only child of George Whitman. She was named after Sylvia Beach, founder of the original Shakespeare & Company bookstore, a former haunt of Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce.

Her parents divorced when she was seven, and she went to stay with her mother in England. After staying for 10 years in London and Edinburgh with her mother, Sylvia Whitman returned and took over the running of the shop in 2003 at age 22, and continues to run it in the same manner as her father, allowing young writers to live and work in the bookstore. Whitman has also started a biennial literary festival, FestivalandCo, which has hosted such writers as Paul Auster, Siri Hustvedt, Jeanette Winterson, Jung Chang and Marjane Satrapi. (source: Wikipedia April 2016)