Gabriela Taboas Zayas, Associate Editor, Brands & Licenses

Gaby Picture

Overview

At Penguin Young Readers Licenses we offer the strongest collection of brands across TV, toy, online, gaming, and film. We celebrate the new and the nerdy, the retro and the reimagined; from pop culture to preschool, we’re building on the best brands. We craft books that reinforce our identity, lead with innovation, and resonate with readers. Our Penguin Young Readers Licenses portfolio offers a book for every reader.

Meet the Team

Daniel Moreton, VP & Publisher, Grosset & Dunlap, Brands & Licenses

As VP & Publisher, Grosset & Dunlap, Brands & Licenses, Daniel oversees both Art and Design, and Licensing Acquisitions for the group. He collaborates on the development of more than 250 books a year, including Penguin Young Readers Licenses, Mad Libs, The World of Eric Carle, Grosset & Dunlap, and the New York Times Best-Selling series, Who Was?

Daniel has spent the last thirty in children’s publishing and entertainment products. He has worked for some of the leaders in books and television, including Scholastic, Disney, Nickelodeon, and Simon & Schuster. Daniel loves to work collaboratively to create new and innovative experiences for children.

Rob Valois, VP, Associate Publisher, Editorial Director, Penguin Workshop

Rob Valois edits commercial middle grade fiction and the occasional picture book or YA novel.  

Casey Nugent, Senior Publishing Manager, Brands and Licenses

Casey Nugent is the Senior Publishing Manager for Brands and Licenses. In her role, she acts as the point person for the licensing team, and is the primary contact for licensors as they work with PYR. She works as the liaison between the licensor’s teams and the internal PYR teams across a number of divisions, including marketing, publicity, sales, subrights and more.  Casey graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing. In her time at Penguin Young Readers, she’s assisted in the acquisition of a number of licenses, including Bluey, Godzilla, TIME for Kids, and Ford, and grown Penguin’s lists with existing licenses like Sonic the Hedgehog, Disney, Peanuts, and Strawberry Shortcake. She’s also worked on multiple New York Times Bestselling titles, and across hit brands like the Who HQ series and Mad Libs.

Caitlin O’Connell, Associate Editor

Caitlin O’Connell is the Associate Editor on the licensing team currently editing titles for Sonic the Hedgehog, Roald Dahl, SpongeBob, Garfield, and more. She is also the editor for a series of picture book biographies under the Who HQ brand and is open to select original middle grade and YA projects. When she is not editing, she is probably hanging out with her cats, working on a sewing project, and thinking entirely too much about Doctor Who.