Deb Werksman

Editorial Manager, Sourcebooks Casablanca

What I'm looking for:
Single title romance in all subgenres: paranormal, historical, romantic suspense, contemporary, erotic romance with:
* a heroine the reader can relate to
* a hero she can fall in love with
* an imaginative, credible world gets created into which the reader can escape
* a hook I can sell within 2-3 sentences
* a career arc for the author (in other words, this book begins a series or begins a career that I can build)

I'm also looking for:
Commercial women's fiction with a strong hook and an unusual angle.

Right now, please don't send me...
Deep, dark, depressing—gotta have a happy ending or it's not my revolution

One of the more important things an editor does for an author is...
Think strategically about your career.

I love my job because...
I get paid to read romance fiction! And because the romance community is warm, collegial and loves to have fun.

I keep my reading pile...
In several locations—stacked in organized fashion around my bedroom, in a bag that I carry with me everywhere I go, on my e-reader, and on my desk. It kind of moves around constantly.

When I'm not reading, I'll be...
Knitting or doing yoga or at Landmark Education.

I follow reading, writing, and publishing news at:
Publishers Lunch, Dear Author, Smart Bitches, RT, Publishers Weekly

Where you'll find me:
Casablancaauthors.blogspot.com once a month; Savvy Authors; Novelists, Inc., BEA, RWA and RT Booklovers convention every year

Agents can contact me at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , direct line 203-876-9790

Shana Drehs

Editorial Manager, Sourcebooks Landmark

What I'm looking for:

Fiction:
accessible literary/book club fiction that's gripping, emotional and dramatic, near-historical that illuminates the past in a new and entertaining way, commercial women's fiction with a unique hook or emotional weight

Nonfiction:
women-driven memoir, parenting, relationships, self-help, humor and pop culture, inspirational and gift books that entertain and inspire women

Right now, please don't send me...
Romance genre fiction, Fitness/Diet/Cooking, Health, Home/Gardening

How I got into books:
I think I might hold a record for most library books checked out at one time from my hometown library, and as a child I did everything one-handed, with a book in my other hand. I entered the business of books as a bookseller at two B. Daltons, in Iowa City and Sioux City, IA, and after some stints in online media, jumped to the publishing side of things at Random House. I had the pleasure of working in the Crown division, editing both fiction and nonfiction, where I worked with Wayne Coffey (NYT bestselling author of THE BOYS OF WINTER) and Suzanne Hansen (NYT bestselling author of YOU'LL NEVER NANNY IN THIS TOWN AGAIN among others.

Just a few of the books and authors I've acquired and edited in the past five years:
Marianne Richmond's IF I COULD KEEP YOU LITTLE and I BELIEVE IN YOU, Elizabeth Chadwick's historical novels, Sarah Bower's internationally bestselling SINS OF THE HOUSE OF BORGIA, and our market-dominating THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BABY NAMES (and five other baby name books!)

Some favorite books and authors I didn't publish:
Born to Run, The Happiness Project, Lunch in Paris, Jen Lancaster, the novels of Barbara O'Neal, Sarah Pekkanen, Heather Gudenkauf

One of the more important things an editor does for an author is...
Work with an author to shape a manuscript's structure, positioning and message, taking it from a rough draft to the most polished book it can be, and talking about it in a way ("positioning it for the marketplace") so that the right audience finds it!

I love my job because...
I can't believe sometimes that I have a job in which I get to read all day, and I'm absolutely never bored. And I know that I'm spreading the love of reading every day, in a way that can really influence and impact folks. As we say here, "books change lives."

I keep my reading pile...
Overflowing from my nightstand, in my car, on my phone, on my iPad. I'm happiest when there are books everywhere!

Bookstores you should visit before you die:
A shout out to my home state of Iowa -- Prairie Lights in Iowa City. There's also Powell's in Portland, which blew me away. Anderson's Bookshop here in Naperville is everything you'd want a local bookstore to be.

When I'm not reading, I'll be...
Spending time with my family, running

I follow reading, writing, and publishing news at:
PW Daily, Publishers Lunch, Shelf Awareness

Agents can contact me at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , direct line 630-536-0535

Stephanie Bowen

Editor, Sourcebooks Trade and Sourcebooks Landmark

What I'm Looking For:

Nonfiction: History; quirky historical reference; memoir; current affairs and women’s issues; pop science/psychology; practical nonfiction with a unique hook and prescriptive element; books about food topics (not cookbooks); entertainment/pop culture.

Fiction: Historical fiction set in an unusual time period or place; historical adventure fiction; contemporary women's fiction that offers a fresh, distinctive perspective on women’s lives; commercial literary/book club fiction.

Right now, please don't send me…

Romance genre fiction; young adult or children's books; reference books; cookbooks; health/diet/fitness; home/gardening; business; personal finance

How I got into books:

I like to think I was born knowing how to read because I can't recall a time when I wasn't reading. In college, I fell in love with the publishing world while attending Book Expo America for an internship, where I purposely ignored book signings with celebrities such as Gene Hackman and Jamie Lee Curtis in favor of visiting as many publisher booths as possible. After graduation, I started at Random House, initially editing nonfiction for the Doubleday and Broadway imprints, and then both nonfiction and fiction for Doubleday, now part of the Knopf-Doubleday Group. I had the pleasure of working with such authors as David Bach (NYT bestselling author of The Automatic Millionaire and Smart Women Finish Rich), Louann Brizendine (NYT bestselling author of The Female Brain and The Male Brain), and David Hoffman (author of The Dead Hand, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction in 2010), among others.

Some favorite books and authors I didn't publish:

Alexander McCall Smith (every series!), Anna Quindlen, Salman Rushdie, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan, The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England(and anything else by Ian Mortimer), Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Roald Dahl (who wouldn't love to have a BFG of their own?), the magnificent Jorge Luis Borges, Jane Austen and her piercing wit, and too many more to list.

One of the more important things an editor does for an author is…

There are so many important things an editor does for his/her authors, but these are two of the most significant, in my opinion:

1. Help authors craft and hone their works into polished finished products that will entertain and inform readers and (ideally!) positively influence or change their readers' perspectives of the world.
2. Be their number one champion and fan.

I love my job because…

I get the opportunity to work with so many different types of people on products that have the potential to make tangible, positive impacts on people's lives. Plus, I learn something new every day. How many people can say their job has taught them about doomed queens throughout the ages, nuclear fusion, and the best patisseries in Paris?

I keep my reading pile…

Everywhere I can fit it! On every device I have (even my iPhone with its tiny screen), every shelf and crevice in my home, in every purse or bag I own, etc. Friends have occasionally offered me shelf space in their places to accommodate my overflowing book collection…

When I'm not reading, I'll be…

Cooking and baking (I love trying new foods and recipes), playing softball, biking, or some other outdoor sport, watching sports (especially baseball and football), playing the piano, traveling and exploring new places, or doing a crossword puzzle (I'm a shameless lover of word games).

I follow reading, writing, and publishing news at:

PW Daily, Publishers Marketplace / Publishers Lunch, MediaBistro, Shelf Awareness, GoodReads, Twitter

Where you'll find me:

@sfbowen on Twitter

Agents can contact me at:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , direct line: 630-536-0588 or on Twitter at @sfbowen

Leah Hultenschmidt

Senior Editor, Sourcebooks Fire and Sourcebooks Casablanca

What I'm looking for:
A fresh premise that can be explained in an elevator pitch and immediately makes the listener want to know more-- "Terminator meets My Fair Lady," "a girl who's the captain and quarterback of her high school football team." My tastes are pretty all over the board, but I'm a sucker for some kind of fairy-tale element, kickbutt females or the girl-next-door with an inner strength, a tinge of fantasy, an unrelenting pace, and a quirky voice I can't get out of my head.

Right now, please don't send me...
Women's fiction or girls in bunkers

Just a few of the books and authors I've acquired and edited in the past five years:
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley, The Eternal Guardians series by Elisabeth Naughton, No Proper Lady by Isabel Cooper, Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber, If I Tell by Janet Gurtler, Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally, Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach

Some favorite books and authors I didn't publish:
Anne of Green Gables, Graceling, anything by Suzanne Brockmann, The Smoke Thief, Outlander, the Jeeves & Wooster series by P.G. Wodehouse

One of the more important things an editor does for an author is...
Guide him or her through the entire publishing process, from covers to marketing to the ever-important yes or no to characters with facial hair (the answer is pretty much always no).

Mottos I live by:
Live, Laugh, Love...Read
When in doubt, cut it out.

I love my job because...
I get to discover and help shape amazing stories, then introduce them to other readers

I keep my reading pile...
On my ereader, stacked next to the bed, falling off the kitchen table

Bookstores you should visit before you die:
The Strand, NYC

When I'm not reading, I'll be...
Watching TV: Jeopardy, House, Top Chef, Downton Abbey, Fringe, Parenthood, Boardwalk Empire, American Horror Story, Mad Men, True Blood, Dexter, Game of Thrones, Bones...let's just say I have a very full DVR. 

I follow reading, writing, and publishing news at:
Publishers Weekly, Smart Bitches Trashy Books, Publishers Lunch, DearAuthor, Shelf Awareness, Twitter

Where you'll find me:
@LeahHulten on Twitter, BEA, varying RWA chapter conferences, RWA nationals, RT conventions

Agents can contact me at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 212-414-1701, ext 2229

Steve Geck

Editorial Manager, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

What I'm looking for: 
I'm acquiring books for children from toddler through the age of fourteen. I'm interested in picture books with an emotional hook and distinctive characters. For fiction I'm looking at all genres and subjects, stand-alone or series. Non-fiction titles should have appeal for bookstore customers as well as educators and library patrons.

Right now, please don't send me…
Rhyming picture book texts that don't scan well; gross-out chapter book series.

How I got into books:
My mom was an elementary school librarian, and when I was in college she and my dad opened The Tree House Children's Book Store in St. Cloud, MN. After college I moved to New York City and worked as the buyer and manager for Eeyore's Books for Children. While at Eeyore's I had the great good fortune to hire a recent graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design named Brian Selznick. Things seem to be working out for him. I spent many years as acquiring editor for Children's Book-of-the-Month Club. Eventually I entered the world of publishing and most recently spent almost a decade as Executive Editor at Greenwillow Books.

Just a few of the books and authors I've acquired and edited in the past five years:
#1 NYT bestseller The Wizard, written by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Brandon Dorman; #1 Indie Next pick Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman; True…Sort Of by Katherine Hannigan; and The Last Apprentice Series by Joseph Delaney, which is about to start filming (fingers crossed) with Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Some favorite books and authors I didn't publish:
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu; We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson; Red Sled by Lita Judge; The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt; and The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification by Julian Montague. (Did I mention I like humorous books)?

One of the more important things an editor does for an author is…
To work thoroughly and patiently so that the book with the author's name printed on it is the best it can be.

I love my job because…
I don't doubt for a second that a great book can change a child's life.

Bookstores you should visit before you die:
Which ones shouldn't you visit?

When I'm not reading, I'll be…
Surfing Youtube for the latest fan-loaded Jack's Mannequin concert footage, catching up with the terrific blog Scouting NY, watching Independent Lens on PBS, or trying to organize my 4,000 plus CD collection.

I follow reading, writing, and publishing news at:
PW Daily, Publishers Lunch, Shelf Awareness, Publishing Perspectives, Gawker, A Fuse 8 Production, Read Roger

Agents can contact me at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; 212-414-1701 ext. 2226

Aubrey Poole

Associate Editor, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky and Fire

What I'm looking for:
Books for ages 7 and up, middle grade through young adult. Any genre, any topic – just make it fresh! I love a touch of the fantastic firmly grounded with a realistic, relatable world or character. Whether it’s a girl adventurer who rescues magical creatures but longs for true friendship or a reformed bully who prevents a shooting and is desperate to earn forgiveness for one bad mistake – books with that larger-than-life element made realistic and believable with relatable characters and themes are right up my alley.

Right now, please don't send me...
Projects with stories I’ve heard before – what makes your manuscript stand out from the rest of the crowd?

Just a few of the books and authors I've acquired and edited in the past five years:
My Very UnFairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszewski, Real Mermaids Don’t Hold Their Breath by Hélène Boudreau, Send by Patty Blount, The Most Improper Miss Sophie Valentine by Jayne Fresina

Some favorite books and authors I didn't publish:
Stargirl by Jerry Spinellii (I cried like a baby), Graceling by Kristin Cashore (I want to be Katsa), Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally (I want to date Henry), The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, anything by Neal Stephenson, JRR Tolkien, Jane Austen

I love my job because...
I enjoy coming to work every day –and nothing beats that.

I keep my reading pile...
On my bookshelf, in a pile on the floor next to my bookshelf, on my night stand, in a pile on the floor next to my nightstand, on the window ledge next to my nightstand...

Bookstores you should visit before you die:
Blackwell’s in Oxford, England

When I'm not reading, I'll be...
At the beach, on a deck, on my roof (anything in the sun), playing kickball, watching Community or the Daily Show, plotting my next trip—top dream destinations: Cairo, Turkey or Argentina.

I follow reading, writing, and publishing news at:
Google Reader – hah! Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, Young to Publishing, YALSA, RT Book Reviews, Horn Book and the Story Siren

Agents can contact me at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 212-414-1701 x2221

Todd Stocke

Vice President & Editorial Director

What I'm looking for:
Mixed-media projects in any category. As Editorial Director, I get to see projects from every one of our terrific acquiring editors in every category. What I'm personally interested in seeing are projects that use various media to tell a story, that are more than a book alone. Since the late '90s I've been working on these kinds of projects, starting with books that included audio CDs not just as an add-on slapped in the back cover, but as an integral part of the book's experience. Today that can mean so much more with various digital opportunities and platforms.

How I got into books:
I'm a bookseller at heart, having started in publishing as an intern at the venerable Coffee House Press and a bookseller at an old orange-and-black B.Dalton Booksellers.

Some favorite books and authors I didn't publish:
I'm a big fan of Richard Russo, Michael Perry, Suzanne Collins, Rick Riordan, Ian Falconer, all things Silverstein, Lisa Kleypas, Chris Crutcher, Kay Ryan, Billy Collins, oh mercy the list goes on...

One of the more important things an editor does for an author is...
"Position" the individual titles and position the author as a brand. Acquiring and developing editors do lots of things, but I think their role as creative services specialists is perhaps the most underrated. There's instinct involved, yes, but that instinct actually comes from hands-on experience, deep research, and live consumer and market data. The core of our job is to connect authors and readers anywhere, anytime, and on any device and we have decades of experience doing that.

I love my job because...
It's right there on our t-shirts: "authors are our rock stars."

I keep my reading pile...
On my iPad, though distressingly in several different apps. I also keep a "guilt pile" of books at home – 800+ page books I've bought but never have the fortitude to crack – curse you Truman and Infinite Jest!

Bookstores you should visit before you die:
Anderson's Bookshop right here in Naperville, Illinois is a special place. I've made pilgrimages to Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, City Lights in San Francisco, King's English in Salt Lake City, and Prairie Lights in Iowa City. And because I'm partial to my hometown, Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis and Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul are not to be missed (hit the Red Balloon, then zip down the street to the Tavern on Grand for walleye and a Summit).

When I'm not reading, I'll be...
Pedaling. I'm an avid cyclist and advocate. Or in the garden.

I follow reading, writing, and publishing news at:
Shelf Awareness Pro (for bookseller and author news & fun) and Publishers Lunch (for industry news and analysis).

Agents can contact me at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , direct line 630-536-0543, or on Twitter @toddstocke.