Jean Feiwel, Publisher
Jean Feiwel has been in children's publishing as long as she or anyone else can remember. A lot of people have referred to her as a legend, which really means she's just older than you are. Mostly what you should know is that she is an Aquarius with Scorpio as her rising sign. That means she's very creative, but unforgiving.
Dave Barrett, Managing Editor
Coming from a long line of New England fishermen [and the occasional writer], Dave hails from New Jersey, where he still lives. A veteran of the publishing industry who has worked in 5 other pub houses prior to F&F ["The first manuscripts I ever read were submitted on prison stationery. I'm not even kidding here."], he can usually be found @ Shea Stadium in Queens when not at his desk, or otherwise galloping through Central Park, trying to outdistance people vastly younger and infinitely more athletic than he is.
Rich Deas, Creative Director
What inspires me most is music and other artists/designers. There are so many talented artists working in the industry today. I’m mostly inspired by concert and theater poster design. Some great studios have developed over the past few years that specialize in this area. Many of them picking up on styles of the early American pop art and giving it a more modern edge, usually with great hand-lettering, illustration, and the silk-screening process. Personally, I would not be into illustration and design if I didn’t enjoy music so much. I don’t think still lifes and landscapes would have inspired much of an art career for me. Most of my initial drawing skills and hand-lettering come from my obsession with music: mostly rock and jazz. I spent most of my school hours doodling, much to the frustration of my teachers - sorry, Mom and Dad. Basically, every textbook, notebook, and desk I encountered would be covered with my personal taste in music: different band names (ahh, the beginning of hand-lettering), illustrations of guitar heroes to Grateful Dead logos, Rick Griffin designs, etc. To list all my favorite artists that inspire me would be impossible but here are a few names that I have to mention:
Artist/Designers:
Joe Sorren - illustrator/fine artist
Mark Ryden - illustrator/fine artist
Emek - poster artist
Methane Studios - poster design and illustration
Cyclone Design - one of the great Seattle design firms
Ames Bros - poster design
Headcase - design studio
Michael Deas - well, he’s my bro and an incredible artist. I’ve learned more from him in a week than I did in my entire college career
David Shannon - children’s book illustrator
Jean Feiwel and team - the best I’ve ever worked with
Eels - many late nights with them in the background
Elizabeth Fithian, Marketing Director
I was born and raised in NYC (Staten Island). In 1991, I happened to mention to a parent while I was working as a part-time preschool teacher/college student in lower Manhattan that I wanted to work in children’s books. That led me to two internships at Simon & Schuster and later Scholastic. Since then, I’ve worked at HarperCollins, DK, Scholastic, and finally Feiwel and Friends. I’ve worked as a publicist, in school and library marketing, and trade marketing – all of which have helped me in my career today. As a Gemini, I enjoy juggling different projects and being creative. It is a privilege to inform people about great new children’s books and help kids find their way to books they might enjoy. My two children help keep me in the know about what kids like, but I know from experience that I can’t rely on a focus group of two. There’s always more to learn and more great books to market with each new season.
Favorite novel: The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Reading interests: classic children's novels I missed reading when I was young, pop culture, biographies, and humorous fiction – have you read David Sedaris?
Reading now: Water for Elephants, first chapter books with my daughter, picture books with my son, and a great, new manuscript from Jordan Sonnenblick.
Nicole Liebowitz Moulaison, Production Manager
Then…
I grew up in Queens where I spent numerous hours each week at the Windsor Park branch of the Queens Borough Public Library. The lower of its two levels was dedicated entirely to children and they had a separate room where filmstrips were shown and readings were given. I have the fondest memories of that little library and believe it was there that I cultivated my fondness for reading and my love for the tactile nature of books. I will never forget getting my first library card and how grown up I felt when that signature-scrawled card garnered me the responsibility to borrow (and return) books. It’s been at least two decades since I’ve been there; I ought to return for a visit.
Now…
After a few odd publishing jobs, I started working at St. Martin's Press in September 1999, making my way around the Adult Trade Production Department. In September 2006, I was offered to manage the production of the Feiwel & Friends and Square Fish titles. As a Production Manager it is my responsibility to figure out production costs for each title and to effectively coordinate the individual jobs of my co-workers under some pretty serious pressure and time constraints. The end result is to deliver finished books of integrity, that illustrate all the hard work of the people who’ve created them, and to do it on time. So far, it's been a wonderful journey treading the very different landscape of children's books and I’m lucky to work with the creative, intelligent, inspiring, and kind people who are Feiwel & Friends. When I am not at work I can be found on a yoga mat, doing crossword puzzles (a hobby I inherited from my mother and grandmother), or escaping from the city with my husband.
Caroline Sun, Publicist
After graduating from college with a degree in English Lit, Caroline, much to her parents’ dismay, tried to execute that time-worn cliché of “running away to join the circus.” She applied to two positions at Barnum & Bailey’s—one was for a line cook on the traveling train (hey, there could have been a book there); the other was for a Field Marketing Rep (to appease the parents). Sadly, the circus did not want her.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Caroline proceeded to live out the other post-graduate cliché of “living in her parent’s basement” and backpacking around the world over the next few years—the Alps (pictured above in front of Mont Blanc), SE Asia, the UK, etc. She has worked in book publicity for more than three years, but this is her first venture into the children’s side of things. She enjoys writing, too, though she finds writing this blurb in third person rather awkward.
Liz Szabla, Editor-in-Chief
I started my career in books 28 years ago (gulp -- I just did the math) working in bookstores in the bay Area. I tell pretty much everyone I meet that I'm a native San Franciscan. I just love that city. And I (heart) NY, too. I moved here in the early '80s, and have been working in publishing ever since.
Ksenia Winnicki, Marketing Assistant
Ksenia hails from the far-off land of the Wawel Dragon, Fryderyk Chopin, Nicholas Copernicus… and kiełbasa—Poland. Upon leaving the motherland, she made her way to New York City. She had glorious plans of becoming a lawyer, a veterinarian, an animal trainer at Sea World, an English teacher, or an FBI Special Agent. But she could not escape the attraction that was, and still is, books! She discovered publishing in college and hasn’t looked back. Because that’s exactly what a book addict needs: to be working in a place that publishes books. Not that she’s complaining. Maybe her bank account is. When not at work, she can be found watching her Xena/I Love Lucy/Buffy/Stargate/Arrested Development/Cheers DVDs, attending Renaissance Faires, browsing used bookstores, listening to the Mediæval Bæbes and other assorted new age/medieval/classic rock/Polish/classical music, and trying to become the next [insert any book award name here] winner/recipient for her novel(s) and poetry…. All while attempting to plan her wedding.
Jessica Tedder, Associate Editor
Jessica has wanted to be a New Yorker since her early teens. But now that she lives here, she realizes the Midwest was a wonderful place. If only the publishing industry were located elsewhere—like in a nice suburb with a SuperTarget and a Kroger she could drive to without having to use germy public transportation—her life would be perfect. But her love of books will keep her here in spite of her dislike for litter and spit on the sidewalks. Her favorite authors run the gamut—from more mainstream choices like Margaret George and James Patterson to the more unusual works of Brian Lumley and David Foster Wallace. Like most girls, she’s not a believer in her own photogenic-ness, so here’s a picture of her surly cat instead. His name is Andy, and he doesn’t like you.
Allison Remcheck, Editorial Assistant
Allison has wanted to be an editor since she was eight years old, after reading her first box-set of Baby-Sitters Club books. She really didn’t know exactly what that word meant, but she knew she would be able to read a lot and live in New York City. Now that she is here, nothing is as she pictured it (including NYC), but at least she understands her job title. Allison enjoys knitting and shopping; eating cookies and reading French Women Don’t Get Fat; London, the color pink, the Bronte sisters (she has actually seen the sofa upon which Emily died), chocolate, Virginia Woolf, Louise Rennison and Helen Fielding. And cats. And if she could jump inside a Jane Austen novel (except for Northanger Abbey) and live in Georgian times, you would never see her again.
Holly West, Assistant to the Publisher
Holly grew up on a series of farms in southern Kentucky, where she was usually known as "that girl who reads a lot" and spent a lot of time astonishing people with the number of books she could fit into her room. During college she studied abroad in London twice, and fell completely in love with both London itself and the experience of living in a place where you didn’t have to drive for forty-five minutes to get to a bookstore. As soon as it was possible, she moved to New York to work in books and has no intention of looking back. She spent a couple of years working in the publicity department of St. Martin’s Press, but after a while decided that children’s books sounded more fun. When not at work she hangs out with the girls in her knitting circle, attempts to save enough money for traveling and Broadway, and curls up in her new apartment with her two cats while reading fantasy, romance, and other things that end with happily-ever-afters.
