Lloyd O'Neil

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 imprints 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 on 17 July 1928, the son of Eunice Ellen (née Lloyd) and Louis Joseph O'Neil. His father was a wool classer and his mother was a professional pianist. He attended Caulfield Grammar School until 1944.

Career After leaving school, O'Neil moved to Sydney and began working with Angus & Robertson as a buyer, becoming head of art books. He left Angus & Robertson in 1951 and the following year joined Cassell as a travelling salesman. Settling in Brisbane, 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. Cheshire was in turn sold in 1964 to a joint venture between the British firm IPC and Australian printing firm Wilke and Co. Ltd. O'Neil succeeded Cheshire's founder Frank Cheshire as general manager in 1967. He remained on the board of review until 1976 and was also president of the Australian Book Publishers Association (ABPA) from 1969 to 1971. He subsequently established Lloyd O'Neil Pty Ltd, which initially partnered with Golden Press and Rigby Ltd to make use of their distribution networks. He printed a wide range of titles, including an Australian Women's Weekly 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.

In 1987, O'Neil sold his company to Penguin Books Australia.

Death and legacy O'Neil was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 1987. He was appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1991 and died on 27 February 1992 at the age of 63.