Our Editorial Team

Elizabeth Agyemang is an editor for 47North, where she acquires science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction, working with bestselling and award-winning authors such as Jeff Wheeler, Charlie N. Holmberg, Luanne G. Smith, Veronica G. Henry, T. Kingfisher, and Jessica Khoury. She looks for stories with commercial crossover appeal—from sharp and adventurous sci-fi explorations of technology and the future, to sweeping fantasies tinged with romance, to propulsive horror. Prior to joining Amazon Publishing, Elizabeth was at HarperCollins Publishers, where she edited, acquired, and managed books from New York Times bestselling authors, award winners, and debuts, including Julie Kagawa, Sunya Mara, Sarah Raughley, Erica Buddington, MzVee, and Makiia Lucier.

Elizabeth is the author and illustrator of graphic novels and prose fiction, including Fibbed and Heart-Shaped Lies. When she isn’t gushing over books, Elizabeth spends her free time dissecting classic movies and TV shows.

Marilyn Brigham has been with Amazon Publishing since 2012. She currently acquires a mix of children’s and adult titles. Her authors for Two Lions and Amazon Crossing Kids include award-winner Johan Rundberg, popular picture-book author Margery Cuyler, and Amazon bestselling author Ellen Javernick. Marilyn also acquires adult fiction for Lake Union, 47North, and Skyscape. Recent acquisitions include Dead Girls Don’t Talk by TikTok sensation Sandra J. Paul, The Winter Dark series by Joanna Ruth Meyer, and The Quitters Club by Jessica Strawser.

Prior to joining Amazon Publishing, Marilyn was at Marshall Cavendish, where she began as an intern and worked her way up to editor. There she edited books for kids of all ages, including the Amazon bestseller Goodnight, Little Monster by Helen Ketteman (illustrated by Bonnie Leick). Marilyn is the author of the board book Swim!, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, and the educational title Dik-Dik (part of the Even Weirder and Cuter series). When not editing or writing, Marilyn can be found at the beach.

Jenny Brodski is a senior fiction editor for Amazon Publishing in Germany. She especially likes discovering unique and emotional stories in the genres of women’s fiction, romance, drama, and fantasy. Even after years in publishing, she still can’t believe she’s been able to turn her passion for reading into a profession.

Grace Doyle oversees commercial fiction imprints, including Thomas & Mercer, 47North, Amazon Original Stories, and Amazon Crossing. She has edited acclaimed and bestselling titles from Robert Dugoni, Tess Gerritsen, Patricia Cornwell, Dean Koontz, Barry Eisler, Lee Goldberg, Alma Katsu, Ivy Pochoda, Ace Atkins, and Christa Carmen. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, she began her publishing career as a publicist at Houghton Mifflin, where she worked on books including the Best American series and Buzz Bissinger and Tony La Russa's New York Times bestseller Three Nights in August. Prior to joining Amazon Publishing, Grace spent several years in the wine industry. When she’s not reading, she enjoys traveling in search of the perfect meal.

Franz Edlmayr manages Amazon Publishing’s German editorial team. He works with authors such as Alexander Hartung, Ellin Carsta, and Anna Johannsen. Prior to joining Amazon Publishing in 2013, Franz was part of the Kindle team at Amazon. He has also worked in the publishing industry in a sales role. Franz is a dedicated year-round cyclist. He grows his own vegetables in an urban garden and enjoys all kinds of outdoor sports.

As the editorial director of Amazon Original Stories, Kjersti Egerdahl (she/her) publishes new short fiction and nonfiction by some of today’s most beloved authors and creators, including Lee Child, R. F. Kuang, Margaret Atwood, Alice Hoffman, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, John Scalzi, Abraham Verghese, Nnedi Okorafor, and Academy Award–winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Books and short stories she has acquired and edited have hit #1 on the Wall Street Journal, Audible, and Amazon Charts bestseller lists; have won awards including the O. Henry, Hugo, Audie, Edgar, Shirley Jackson, ITW Thriller Award, and FutureBook Book of the Year; and are currently in development for film and television.

Before joining Amazon in 2014, Kjersti developed licensed fiction and nonfiction with Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grateful Dead Productions, and the estate of Jimi Hendrix. A seventh-generation Seattleite, she enjoys watching her husband play guitar in dive bars and chasing her two small sons all over the great outdoors.

Emily Freidenrich is an editor for Lake Union Publishing, acquiring commercial women’s fiction and book club fiction. She is drawn to immersive historical fiction, stirring multigenerational dramas, and character-driven contemporary fiction with a note of whimsy or magical realism. Emily joined Amazon in 2018, after wearing many hats in book publishing. She writes about art and crafts, and is the author of The Art of Beatrix Potter, Almost Lost Arts, and Extraordinary Mothers & Daughters.

Maria Gomez is the editorial director for Montlake. She works with many bestselling authors, including Catherine Bybee, Devney Perry, Susan Stoker, Christina Lauren, and Abby Jimenez.

Maria was a Borders bookseller for more than five years before starting her publishing career in 2005 as an editor at HarperCollins. During her time at Harper, Maria worked with several award-winning and bestselling authors, including Beverly Cleary and Kelley Armstrong, and acquired a list of up-and-coming debut authors. She has worked on a wide variety of genres in children’s books, YA, and adult fiction, in both original and translated forms.

Maria joined Amazon Publishing in 2011 and, aside from working on romance novels, she enjoys dancing, trying new foods, and spending time with her son.

Sammia Hamer oversees commercial fiction imprints in the UK, including Amazon Original Stories, Thomas & Mercer, Lake Union Publishing, Montlake, and Little A. She has edited bestselling titles by Fiona Valpy, Claire McGowan, T L Swan, Amanda Prowse, Mark Edwards, Damien Boyd, and others. Sammia started her publishing career with a scholarship sponsored by the Arts Council England that led to her MA in publishing and roles at a number of different publishing houses. Prior to joining Amazon Publishing in 2015, Sammia held various roles at the HarperCollins imprints Harper Fiction, Avon, and Mira, where she worked with authors including Mary Kubica, Fiona Gibson, Miranda Dickinson, and Pam Jenoff. Sammia loves travel, live theater, and spending time with her family.

Christine Harrasser is an editor at Amazon Publishing in Germany for all imprints. She loves finding new voices and championing them. She is also Audible's point of contact for Amazon Publishing's German titles. When not reading, Christine enjoys podcasting and all things film and TV.

Editor Daniel Harmon acquires fiction and nonfiction for Brilliance Publishing, where he has obtained audio rights for memoirs from Lucille Ball and Esmé Weijun Wang, groundbreaking backlist works from George R. Stewart and Jeff VanderMeer, and additional frontlist titles from such luminaries as Heather Cox Richardson, Wayétu Moore, Helen DeWitt, Sam Wasson, Catherine Coulter, and Ian Frazier. Prior to joining Brilliance, Daniel served as the editorial director at Zest Books/Pulp, a nonfiction YA publishing house based in San Francisco, and contributed film and literary criticism to FLOOD Magazine, Brooklyn Magazine, and Slate.

Victoria Haslam is the senior editor for the Amazon Original Stories, Thomas & Mercer, and Lake Union Publishing imprints in the UK. She works with bestselling authors John Marrs, Claire McGowan, and Emylia Hall, among others, and her recent publications include short stories from global bestselling authors, such as The Rise by Ian Rankin and The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan. Before joining Amazon Publishing in 2020, Victoria was commissioning editor at Audible UK, where she acquired titles for the company’s first list of original audiobooks across all genres and worked on creating transformational audio content. Prior to that, Victoria worked with independent trade and B2B publishers in a variety of roles.

Nancy Holmes is a senior editor at Amazon Publishing, where she acquires commercial women’s fiction and book club fiction for Lake Union Publishing and Little A. Prior to Amazon, Nancy spent several years at HarperCollins, where she served as the Director of Media Development. At Harper, she solicited and negotiated media rights deals on behalf of authors and estates across children’s and adult genres in the US, UK, and other offices globally. She also worked collaboratively with editors to develop book properties with an eye toward film/tv adaptation. Previously, she worked in show development and production at HBO, and she started her career in Media Rights at United Talent Agency. When she’s not reading for her extremely active and competitive family book club, Nancy enjoys playing the guitar, needlepointing, and film photography.

Selena James is a senior editor for Little A, Lake Union Publishing, and Amazon Original Stories. She acquires a wide range of fiction, and is drawn to stories with a dash of romance, suspense, or magical realism. Selena has edited short stories by New York Times bestselling authors Issa Rae, Emma Rosenblum, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Christina Baker Kline, Keke Palmer (writing with Jasmine Guillory), and Rebecca Serle. Award-winning and best-selling titles she has worked on include The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman, Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand, Uncharted Waters by Sally Hepworth, The Pram by Joe Hill, It Will All Work Out by Kevin Hart, and Stockholm by Catherine Steadman.

Selena began her editorial career at Simon & Schuster, working on romance, cozy mysteries, and horror, and directed the editorial program for Kensington’s multicultural imprint, editing New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe, NAACP Image Award–winning author ReShonda Tate Billingsley, and many more.

Carmen Johnson oversees Lake Union Publishing, Little A, and Mindy’s Book Studio. Carmen has edited Katie Sise, Zibby Owens, Nicola Kraus, Amy Lea, Melissa de la Cruz, Rachel Cohn, and Lauren Oliver. Carmen began her publishing career at Knopf, where she worked on titles by Lorrie Moore and Anne Rice.

Fabian Knecht is a senior editor for Amazon Publishing Germany, where he works with a broad range of local and international authors of various genres. Fabian has a long history in the media business as an editor and editor in chief for well-known lifestyle magazines. Prior to Amazon Publishing, he worked in marketing for Amazon Prime and Amazon Movies.

Matthias Kuehr is a senior editor for Amazon Publishing in Germany. He worked with Amazon in several roles before joining the publisher in 2015. He focuses on both local and translated fiction, in particular crime and thriller.

Maisie Lawrence (they/them) is an editor commissioning across Lake Union Publishing (book club fiction), Thomas & Mercer (crime and thrillers), Montlake (romance) and Amazon Original Stories. They are proud to work with authors including D. S. Butler, J. B. Turner, J. R. Ellis, Teresa Driscoll, Caitlin Devlin, and Anstey Harris. Before joining Amazon Publishing, they combined the very best of traditional and digital publishing while working for Simon & Schuster; Canelo; Little, Brown; and Bookouture.

A Bookseller Rising Star in 2022, Maisie has published many UK and US Kindle bestsellers and loves helping authors to develop their careers and audiences. Particularly focused on publishing and amplifying diverse voices, Maisie is a co-founder of Pride in Publishing, a network for LGBTQ+ people who work with books. When not helping their authors to plot the next runaway bestseller, Maisie is a poet, and they co-edited the anthology Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different (Corsair, 2021).

Andrew Pantoja is a senior editor at Brilliance Publishing, where he acquires audio rights across all genres and categories. His notable acquisitions include works from Kristy Woodson Harvey, John Crowley, Gigi McCaffrey, Ron Darling, Robin Sloan, and Marc Morris. He is drawn to voice-driven stories rich with dialogue, atmosphere, and heart that create unforgettable listening experiences. Andrew is interested in the full spectrum of audiobook rights, including compelling debuts, commercial blockbusters, and backlist gems ready for new audiences.

Previously, he served as Associate Publisher at PLI Press, a not-for-profit publisher, and as senior program manager at Amazon Publishing. A New York sports fan and theater aficionado, Andrew is also a writer and visual artist who loves exploring the city with his family.

A Publishers Weekly Star Watch honoree, Editorial Director Megha Parekh acquires for Thomas & Mercer, Mindy's Book Studio, Lake Union Publishing, and Amazon Original Stories. She loves twisty, fast-paced novels that are broadly appealing and genre-blending. She’s particularly drawn to voice-driven stories, unique and fresh reads with characters that jump off the page, a strong cinematic hook written from diverse perspectives, and unputdownable stories full of secrets and complex plotting.

Prior to joining Amazon Publishing in 2017, Megha was an editor at Grand Central Publishing. Megha’s list includes New York Times bestselling authors Jeffery Deaver, Wendy Corsi Staub, A. R. Torre, and Lee Goldberg; USA Today bestselling authors Jesse Q. Sutanto, Lucinda Berry, Brianna Labuskes, Debra Webb, Samantha M. Bailey, and Steven Konkoly; Wall Street Journal bestselling authors Isabella Maldonado and Robert Bailey; Harper Lee Prize award winner and Edgar Award–nominated author Victor Methos; and critically acclaimed authors Amina Akhtar, Yasmin Angoe, Amelia Diane Coombs, Elle Marr, Namrata Patel, Kara Thomas, Lauren Thoman, and Elizabeth Rose Quinn.

When she’s not helping her authors plot their latest exploits, she loves to gaze adoringly at Mount Rainier, clean out a farmers market, travel with her paddleboard, and read for pleasure. A few books she loves are God of the Woods by Liz Moore, You by Caroline Kepnes, When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole, In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, and Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll.

A fan of unreliable narrators, domestic suspense, and true crime, Senior Editor Liz Pearsons acquires for Thomas & Mercer and Amazon Original Stories. She works with New York Times bestselling authors Gregg Olsen, Luanne Rice, Wendy Walker, and J.T. Ellison. Her award-nominated authors include Tracy Clark, Lori Roy, Chad Zunker, and Joe Hart (whose novel Or Else won the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original). When she isn’t reading, Liz can be found on her yellow beach cruiser, boating on Lake Michigan, or cheering on her beloved Green Bay Packers. After six years in Seattle, she is now based in Michigan.

Victoria Pepe is a UK-based senior editor working across the commercial imprints of Lake Union Publishing (book club fiction), Thomas & Mercer (crime and thrillers), Montlake (romance), and Amazon Original Stories. She’s proud to publish bestselling authors including Amanda Prowse, Imogen Clark, Soraya M. Lane, and T. E. Kinsey. Her recent successes include Always You and Me by Dani Atkins, and the DS Kat Ballantyne series from Andy Maslen. Victoria started her publishing career at Hachette in the early 2000s, and has held a variety of editorial roles through the years. She is the editor of the essay anthology I Call Myself a Feminist (Virago, 2007) and teaches a creative writing course.

Lauren Plude is a senior editor for Montlake and Amazon Original Stories. She has had the privilege of working with bestselling authors Rebecca Yarros, Tessa Bailey, Brynne Weaver, Katee Robert, H. D. Carlton, Alexandria Bellefleur, Olivia Dade, and Laura Pavlov. Lauren has been falling for happily-ever-afters for well over a decade. Prior to joining Montlake, she was an editor for Grand Central Publishing/Forever Romance. She likes her romance like she likes her coffee: decadent and hot. When she isn’t lost in a book, she’s busy spoiling her rescue dog, Sophia.

Megan Sakoi is an editor for Montlake. She found her heart captivated by love stories at an age far younger than her mother would have preferred. Her resulting passion for books and her dedication to empowering authors has translated into a winding career through the publishing industry, including roles as a freelance book editor, an author experience manager for Kindle Direct Publishing, and the founder of a boutique literary company specializing in indie author services. When she's not tackling the precariously tall to-be-read pile on her nightstand, Megan can be found indulging in her other great loves, including baking decadent desserts, adventuring across the globe with her husband, and snuggling their adorable goldendoodles, Kona and Nala.

Anh Schluep oversees Montlake and Skyscape. She has decades of book business experience, starting at her local Waldenbooks in the suburbs of Seattle. She went on to hold a wide variety of roles in publishing, including sales, marketing, and account management positions at Penguin Group and Random House before joining Amazon Publishing in 2011.

Hannah Shaw is an editor for the Thomas & Mercer and Lake Union Publishing imprints in the UK. She works with bestselling authors Hilary Tailor, Sherry Rankin, and Peter O’Mahoney. Before joining Amazon Publishing, Hannah held various roles in Editorial and Marketing at Audible UK, where she worked on the launch of Audible Originals, including 1984 and David Copperfield.

Alexandra Torrealba is an editor at Amazon Crossing, where she acquires international literature to be translated into English and made available to readers across the world. She also acquires across Amazon Publishing’s imprints, including Thomas & Mercer and Lake Union Publishing, in a variety of genres. Authors currently on her list include Isabel Allende, Viveca Sten, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Marc Levy, Jeff Wheeler, J.M. Lee, Diego Boneta, Jennifer Moorhead, Chelsea Ichaso, Galina Vromen, Sarah Echavarre, and Sofia Robleda.

Prior to joining Amazon Publishing in 2022, Alexandra was the editor at Vintage Español (Penguin Random House), where she acquired Spanish-language rights to works originally published in English, among them Javier Zamora’s widely acclaimed memoir Solito and National Book Award finalist The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras. She also worked on the Spanish translations of fiction phenomena Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, as well as works by beloved authors Julia Alvarez and Sandra Cisneros.

Formerly the Publisher for Poisoned Pen Press, Editorial Director Jessica Tribble Wells acquires novels for Thomas & Mercer and short fiction Amazon Original Stories.

Jessica’s list includes New York Times bestselling authors Dean Koontz, Mike Omer, and Rachel Howzell Hall; USA Today bestselling author Audrey J. Cole; Wall Street Journal bestselling author Minka Kent; Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author Jenny Milchman; Bram Stoker Award–winning author S.P. Miskowski; Edgar Award–nominated authors Jess Lourey, Catriona McPherson, and Carole Lawrence; and critically acclaimed authors Ellie Marney, Erica Ruth Neubauer, Dawn Kurtagich, Christine Carbo, Emily Listfield, and Leslie Wolfe. Prior to joining Amazon in 2013, Jessica worked on James Sallis's Drive and Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series.

When she’s not helping her authors write their protagonists out of trouble, she loves to cook far too much food for only four people, stream the latest in movies and television, and even read for pleasure.

Nicole Tschierschke is a senior editor at Amazon Publishing in Germany with a focus on local and translated women’s fiction and romance novels. She works with many authors including Marie Force and Catherine Ryan Hyde. Nicole is passionate about reading foreign literature and traveling.

Laura Van der Veer is an editor for Little A, Mindy’s Book Studio, Lake Union Publishing, and Amazon Original Stories, focusing on upmarket fiction and narrative nonfiction. She loves stories with a clever voice that also manage to show vulnerability and connect to readers in surprising ways. She has published books by bestselling authors like Laurie Notaro, Jen Lancaster, Guy Lawson, and Uzma Jalaluddin. Her titles include The Waltham Murders by Susan Zalkind, Sorry for the Inconvenience by Farah Naz Rishi, In Our Likeness by Bryan Van Dyke, and Pink Whales by Sara Shukla. She has published short content by Cheryl Strayed, Katherine Ryan, Sadeqa Johnson, and Josh Malerman. Before Little A, she worked for Spiegel & Grau, where she edited Norm Macdonald’s New York Times bestseller Based on a True Story and Rob Delaney’s memoir Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage.

Chris Werner oversees audio for Amazon Publishing and its audiobook imprint, Brilliance Publishing. His list has included a wide range of bestselling authors, including Jennifer Armentrout, Robert Kiyosaki, Tami Hoag, Jonathan Alter, and Elle Macpherson. Before moving to audio, Chris was in various editorial roles at Amazon Publishing, most recently Executive Editor, and worked on the Kindle Books team. He has also served as a senior editor at SagaCity Media, where he led online editorial in addition to writing and editing lifestyle and arts features. When he’s not buried in a book, Chris can be found enjoying the outdoors with his family or indulging his love of travel.

Pippa White is an editor acquiring book club fiction and women’s fiction for Lake Union and Little A. She works with authors like Sara Blaydes, Emily Bleeker, Eileen Goudge, and Rosa Kwon Easton. Pippa loves character-driven contemporary fiction with a deep emotional journey and self-aware characters. She is particularly drawn to narratives that involve perseverance and redemption.

Before joining Amazon Publishing, Pippa acquired and edited books for Hachette, Chronicle Books, and Abrams, where she worked with authors like Louesa Roebuck, Jen Fisch, and Gwyneth Paltrow. When she’s not reading, Pippa is an avid runner and open-water swimmer. She has even been known to do the Polar Bear Plunge in the ocean in the dead of winter.

Lena Woitkowiak is a senior fiction editor at Amazon Publishing Germany, which she joined in 2014. She focuses on local and translated historical fiction, women’s fiction, and contemporary novels. She is extremely proud when she discovers new voices and helps them find a big readership. She holds a master’s degree in literary studies, and has previously held marketing positions, but her big passion remains storytelling in all its facets.