Andrea Alarcon
International Sales Assistant
Favorite Recent Read: Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
Birthplace: Guayaquil, Ecuador
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: TikToker.
Fun Fact: Andrea randomly went skydiving her first week in Miami.
Aracelly Arcilla
Office Manager
Favorite Recent Read: In Defense of Plants by Matt Candeias
Birthplace: Medellín, Colombia
Living In: Coral Gables, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Production supervisor at a clothing export company.
Fun Fact: Aracelly studied nursing in San Francisco, California.
Krishna Bhat
Special Sales Manger
Favorite Recent Read: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Birthplace: Kent, England
Living In: San Francisco, California
Second Favorite Job: Being a kids art teacher.
Fun Fact: Krishna has a vast vinyl collection which goes back 45 years or so, and he is an artist and illustrator.
Shelby Bradford
Editorial Assistant
Favorite Recent Read: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington
Living In: Newcastle, Washington
Second Favorite Job: Dance teacher—Shelby taught beginning level jazz to elementary school students.
Fun Fact: Shelby’s favorite animal is a sloth!
Elina Diaz
Art Director
Favorite Recent Read: You Don’t Have to Like Me by Alida Nugent
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Working as the receptionist at the Lowe Art Museum in Coral Gables.
Fun Fact: Her personal work has been displayed in Times Square twice.
Veronica Diaz
Assistant Managing Editor
Favorite Recent Read: What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
Birthplace: Miami, Florida
Living In: Jersey City, New Jersey
Second Favorite Job: Working (& occasionally performing) with The Roxy Theatre Group.
Fun Fact: Vero tap danced for over 10 years! These days, she’s taking care of her high-maintenance pup Jo, binge-watching all sorts of TV, and occasionally playing Pokémon.
Geena El-Haj
Marketing Communications Coordinator
Favorite Recent Read: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Birthplace: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Being a writing tutor at Florida International University.
Fun Fact: Geena used to spend her summers in the Middle East visiting family, and she still tries to go as often as she can!
Jessica Faroy
Associate Editor
Favorite Recent Read: Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
Birthplace: Havana, Cuba
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Working as a bartender in Miami.
Fun Fact: Jessica’s idols include Federico García Lorca, James Baldwin, and Bad Bunny.
Lyzmarie Fernandez
Editorial Assistant
Favorite Recent Read: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Birthplace: Orlando, Florida
Living In: Brooklyn, New York
Second Favorite Job: Creating marketing videos for a skincare brand.
Fun Fact: Lyzmarie loves traveling and taking photos with her Minolta x-500 film camera!
MJ Fievre
Director of Global Editions and Juvenile Publishing
Favorite Recent Read: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Birthplace: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Living In: Miramar, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Working as a program and marketing coordinator for the Miami Book Fair.
Fun Fact: MJ loves Bob´s Burgers, merkitties and Animal Crossing (Nintendo DS).
John Fleming
Group Technology Director
Favorite Recent Read: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island
Living In: Tallahassee, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Being a mentor for early stage startup founders.
Fun Fact: John had the privilege of having a one-on-one dinner with Gene Roddenbury while he was in college.
Carmen Fortunato
Designer
Favorite Recent Read: The Magic by Rhonda Byrne
Birthplace: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Living In: Hollywood, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Working at a theatre with teenagers in after school programs.
Fun Fact: Carmen participated as an actress at the Joseph Papp Festival de Teatro Latino.
Cameon Galli
Children’s Marketing Manager
Favorite Recent Read: The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
Birthplace: Torrington, Wyoming
Living In: Wonder Lake, Illinois
Second Favorite Job: Teaching skin care and encouraging women to love themselves fully.
Fun Fact: Cameon grew up on a cattle ranch in Montana where she visits her parents and siblings as often as possible, nurturing her love of nature and time spent with family.
Lilia Garvin
Senior Designer
Favorite Recent Read: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Birthplace: Evanston, Illinois
Living In: Fort Worth, Texas
Second Favorite Job: Hosting painting and wine parties where she could encourage creativity and see people smile!
Fun Fact: Lilia is a huge fan of linguistics and constructed languages.
Julianna Holshue
Editorial Assistant
Favorite Recent Read: It’s a tie between Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado and Time Is A Mother by Ocean Vuong, how could she choose just one!
Birthplace: Marlton, New Jersey
Living In: Marlton, New Jersey
Second Favorite Job: Indie poet and collage artist.
Fun Fact: Julianna loves collecting stickers, antique bottles, and old postcards with cryptic messages from the past.
Shawn Hoult
Director of International Sales & Rights
Favorite Recent Read: Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson
Birthplace: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Living In: London, England
Second Favorite Job: Working as a journalist and photographer—another gig where Shawn got to hunt down amazing stories and meet inspiring people.
Fun Fact: Shawn has performed comedy around the world including stops in New York, Auckland, Amsterdam, Vancouver, and London.
Minerve Jean
Marketing Manager
Favorite Recent Read: Questions for Ada by Ijeoma Umebinyuo
Birthplace: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Blogging on her own website.
Fun Fact: She´s a BIG avocado fan.
Lou Johnson
International Publishing Director
Favorite Recent Read: Outlawed By Anna North
Birthplace: Victoria, Australia
Living In: Sydney, Australia
Second Favorite Job: She can’t choose between leading Simon & Schuster Australia though a period of huge industry change, founding her own startup, The Author People, or heading up the brilliant team at Murdoch Books.
Fun Fact: Lou’s real name is Victoria. She was named after the place she was born after her parents moved to Australia from England.
Aibike Kalibekova
Accounting and Finance Manager
Favorite Recent Read: Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Birthplace: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Working with amazing people in one of the Big4 audit companies.
Fun Fact: Aibike is a big fan of traveling; she has done a road trip around the US and visited 11 states and 22 cities in a week.
Mitchell Kaplan
Editor-at-Large, Books & Books
Favorite Recent Read: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Birthplace: Miami, Florida
Living In: Miami, Florida
Fun Fact: Mitchell is a co-founder of Miami Book Fair International.
Brenda Knight
Publisher
Favorite Recent Read: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Birthplace: Gallipolis, Ohio
Living In: San Francisco Bay Area, California
Second Favorite Job: Working at her aunt’s nursery, instilling in her a deep love of gardening.
Fun Fact: Brenda is also a poet—she opened for Lawrence Ferlinghetti when he toured in Europe.
Morgane Leoni
Art Director
Favorite Recent Read: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Birthplace: Paris, France
Living In: Los Angeles, California
Second Favorite Job: Working as a graphic designer in a design agency in Paris.
Fun Fact: Morgane loves to travel and eat, and wishes she had a dog or two.
Christina McCall
Predictive Analytics
Favorite Recent Read: The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
Birthplace: Irvine, California
Living In: Herndon, Virginia
Second Favorite Job: Working as a merchandise hostess at the Emporium in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
Fun Fact: Christina loves experimenting with crazy hair colors and her favorite so far has been ocean blue.
Lisa McGuinness
Creative Director & YPP Publisher
Favorite Recent Read: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owen
Birthplace: Oakland, California
Living In: Walnut Creek, California
Second Favorite Job: Working as a wedding florist.
Fun Fact: Lisa is a tennis fiend, and loves to both watch it and play it!
Chris McKenney
President & CEO
Favorite Recent Read: Open by Johan Norberg
Birthplace: Denver, Colorado
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Working with all the good people and publishers of Publishers Group West (PGW) as Chief Operating Officer.
Fun Fact: Chris and his wife, editor Mary Rajkumar, have traveled to over seventy countries, many with their two kids.
Raj McKenney
Customer Service Coordinator
Birthplace: Berkeley, California
Living In: Miami, Florida and Edinburgh, Scotland
Second Favorite Job: No idea. (This is Raj’s first job.)
Fun Fact: Raj once helped to make a modding project which doubled active users for a game.
Scott McKenney
Director of Analytics
Favorite Recent Read: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Birthplace: Auburndale, Massachusetts
Living In: Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Second Favorite Job: Bonding with his Golden Retriever, Fiona. Oh, and Scott was a career officer at the CIA.
Fun Fact: Scott is happy to have flunked retirement and now be working at Mango.
Katia Mena
Junior Designer
Favorite Recent Read: Maus by Art Spiegelman
Birthplace: Austin, Texas
Living In: Buda, Texas
Second Favorite Job: Assisting her sibling with costuming projects, including design, prop making, and photographing final pieces—though her favorite step is wearing them.
Fun Fact: Enjoys following and participating in various zine projects (whether as an artist or moderator).
Mike the Poet
Publisher, D.O.P.E.
Favorite Recent Read: The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Living In: Citizen of the world
Second Favorite Job: Performing poetry.
Fun Fact: Mike is in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Robin Miller
Managing Editor
Favorite Recent Read: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Teaching waterskiing at a resort in northern Michigan.
Fun Fact: Do not ask Robin about her cat unless you are prepared to see a LOT of photos.
Viveka Montjoy
Analyst Trainee
Favorite Recent Read: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Birthplace: Chiclayo, Peru
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Viveka worked as a Product Developer and Business Development Analyst at a Swedish manufacturing company.
Fun Fact: Hilary Duff was her idol growing up so she learned all the songs on her album Metamorphosis when she was 8 years old.
Roberto Nuñez
Director of Mango Online
Favorite Recent Read: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Birthplace: Quito, Ecuador
Living In: Quito, Ecuador
Second Favorite Job: User Interface and User Experience Design, as well as Online Marketing on personal projects.
Fun Fact: Roberto loves vertigo and has jumped from a bridge four times. Parachuting is next on his list!
Nathaniel Parker
International Publishing & Rights Coordinator
Favorite Recent Read: Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
Birthplace: Harlem, New York
Living In: Boca Raton, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Making and delivering pizza that brought smiles and full bellies to many.
Fun Fact: Nate plays the piano and electric guitar.
Hannah Jorstad Paulsen
Director of Marketing
Favorite Recent Read: Humankind by Rutger Bregman
Birthplace: Tromsø, Norway
Living In: Oslo, Norway
Second Favorite Job: Hannah worked at Marvelous Norway, a media company, as a community manager.
Fun Fact: Hannah loves to hang out with animals and her hobbies include knitting, crocheting and playing the ukulele.
Yaddyra Peralta
Director of People Development
Favorite Recent Read: Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz
Birthplace: Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Living In: Little Haiti, Miami
Second Favorite Job: Visiting Poet at Emerson Elementary School for O,Miami Poetry Festival’s Sunroom project.
Fun Fact: Yaddyra once spent a summer in the Amazon rainforest.
Alina Perrin
eCommerce Coordinator
Favorite Recent Read: The Charioteer by Mary Renault
Birthplace: Cebu City, Philippines
Living In: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Working as an Administrative Assistant at FAU’s Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Fun Fact: One of Alina´s hobbies is cosplay, and she has a twin sister.
Nehemie Pierre
Data Analytics Manager
Favorite Recent Read: Finding Me by Viola Davis
Birthplace: Miami, Florida
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Community Leader and Advocate for overlooked and under-resourced communities in the Miami area.
Fun Fact: Nehemie’s first flight in life was a 48-hour flight to Mumbai, India.
Wendy Piersall
Director of Business Development and Woo! Jr. Publisher
Favorite Recent Read: We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
Birthplace: Elmhurst, Illinois
Living In: Woodstock, Illinois
Second Favorite Job: Elected to the Woodstock City Council.
Fun Fact: Wendy is considered one of the OG “Mommy Bloggers” and actually wrote Mom Blogging for Dummies back in 2011.
Haley Pody
Analyst
Favorite Recent Read: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia
Living In: Alabama
Second Favorite Job: Search Quality Rater at Sykes.
Fun Fact: Haley refused to read fiction books on her own time from the ages of 6-8, until she discovered the historical fiction genre, which sparked her love for fiction once again.
Mary Rajkumar
Editorial Advisor
Favorite Recent Read:An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Birthplace: Singapore
Living In: Miami, Florida
Fun Fact: If she wasn’t an editor, Mary would probably be a pianist in a jazz bar.
Giulia Scarnecchia
Director of Finance
Favorite Recent Read: Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Birthplace: Teramo, Italy
Living In: Bologna, Italy
Second Favorite Job: Administrative coordinator for Teramo Triathlon Team, a sport association in Italy.
Fun Fact: She went skydiving twice but can’t take a dip into the sea—even if she were a swimmer.
Natasha Vera
Associate Editor
Favorite Recent Read: The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio
Living In: Coral Gables, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Working at a bookstore!
Fun Fact: She is a singer and songwriter.
Hugo Villabona
Director of Publishing Operations
Favorite Recent Read: Meet Me in the Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman
Birthplace: Bogotá, Colombia
Living In: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: Fact-checking for Mental Floss.
Fun Fact: Hugo has seen every Simpsons episode. Ever
Ronchon Villaester
eBook Designer
Favorite Recent Read: Ironically, he doesn’t read many books. He does love reading memes and Facebook posts, though!
Birthplace: Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines
Living In: Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines
Second Favorite Job: Designing book interiors and covers.
Fun Fact: Ronchon is a very good dancer! He used to compete professionally in ballroom dancing when he was younger.
Megan Werner
Junior Designer
Favorite Recent Read: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Birthplace: Midland, Michigan
Living in: Miami, Florida
Second Favorite Job: At a tech startup that’s dedicated to increasing volunteer participation in high school and college students.
Fun Fact: Megan thinks there is never a “wrong” time for a donut and is starting her tattoo collection.
Meloni Williams
Developmental Editing Manager
Favorite Recent Read: Rust and Stardust by T. Greenwood
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Living In: Houston, Texas
Second Favorite Job: Meloni worked in education as a teacher trainer and adjunct professor, developing teacher leaders and preparing college freshmen for career readiness.
Fun Fact: Meloni loves spending time with her wife, son, and three Yorkies; her interests include event-planning and creating with her Cricut.