Monique Sterling, Senior Designer

Monique Sterling, senior designer at Philomel Books, joined the team in 2019. She holds a BFA in graphic design from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a minor in communication design. Before making the pivot to children’s publishing, she worked as a freelancer and full-time designer in several industries, including print, online education, advertising, marketing/promo,…

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Rachael Kelly, Editor

Rachael Kelly is an Editor at Dutton acquiring commercial and upmarket/book club fiction across genres—stories that combine rapid pacing, nuanced character development, complex themes, and compelling hooks. She is building a list that prioritizes both voice and plot, and gravitates toward fiction that is romantic, escapist, suspenseful, mysterious, or psychological in nature, especially from authors…

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Joanna Ng, Editor

Joanna Ng joined TarcherPerigee in 2012, where she acquires and edits books in the areas of personal growth/self-help, popular psychology, creativity, and memoir. She enjoys working with a diverse range of authors who have compelling stories to tell and powerful insights to share—she is always learning something new from them.

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Gnesis Villar, Editorial Assistant

Editorial Assistant Gnesis Villar joined Kokila in June 2021. Previously, she wrote reviews for the children’s department at Publisher’s Weekly, in addition to interning at Macmillan, Laura Dail Literary Agency, and Dial Books for Young Readers. She is a native New Yorker raised on cartoons, unlimited Internet access, and R-rated horror movies. She graduated from…

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Grace Layer, Associate Editor

Grace Layer joined Dutton in January 2021, after working as an agent assistant at Empire Literary and as a freelance editor. On the nonfiction side, Grace is looking for smart narrative nonfiction by journalists or experts in their field, particularly in the areas of education, intersectional feminism, and true crime. On the fiction side, she’s…

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Lauren Appleton, Executive Editor

Lauren Appleton has been at TarcherPerigee since 2012, where she acquires a wide range of self-improvement titles, mainly for Millennials and Gen-Z. She is particularly interested in the areas of inspiration/motivation, pop-psychology, creativity, social justice, female empowerment, and anything that will improve your life or simply make you smile. A large portion of her list…

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Gretchen Durning, Editor

Gretchen Durning is an Editor at G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group. She works primarily on young adult and middle grade fiction. She’s edited titles such as the New York Times bestseller Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor, the internationally bestselling Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou, and These Deadly Prophecies by…

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Rosie Ahmed, Editor

Rosie Ahmed (she/her) graduated with her master’s in creative writing from the University of South Dakota and joined Dial in 2018. She was a We Need Diverse Books internship grant recipient, a Representation Matters Mentorship Program mentee and junior mentor, and a co-instructor for the Children’s Book Academy summer 2020/spring 2021 middle grade and picture…

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Ellen Cormier, Senior Editor

Ellen Cormier (she/her) is an editor at Dial Books for Young Readers, acquiring picture books, novels, and graphic novels with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ stories and creators. She is always on the lookout for voicey, character-driven books, especially ones that explore universal themes through the lens of hyper-specific experiences. She has a soft spot…

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Kate Harrison, Senior Executive Editor

Kate Harrison (she/her) spent much of her childhood in a tiny town in Southern Missouri that is best known for its “Throwed Rolls” restaurant, where you actually have to catch your bread in order to eat it. It inspired a strong work ethic, a true love of carbohydrates, and maybe a weird sense of humor.…

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