Main areas of interest:

• Crime fiction (commercial and upmarket)
• Feel-good/cosy fiction
• Historical women’s fiction

Marine Alata holds a Master of Modern Literature degree from the Sorbonne and a Master of Publishing degree from Villetaneuse, completed with a semester at New York University. She held internships at Fleuve Éditions, Éditions Robert Laffont, and Grove/Atlantic in New York before returning to Éditions Robert Laffont as a Publishing Assistant in 2014. In 2017, as Editor, she was responsible for the Pavillons Poche line, revitalising the collection and giving it new visibility with booksellers and readers.

She also led the Pavillons collection list which released new editions of great 20th century novels such as La Famille Aubrey (The Saga of the Century trilogy) by Rebecca West and La Servante écarlate (The Handmaid’s Tale) by Margaret Atwood; enriching the titles of the collection with original prefaces by authors including Alain Mabanckou, Douglas Kennedy, Philippe Claudel and Lydie Salvayre. Marine also published new releases from authors in the Pavillons collection, including Les Graciées (The Mercies) by Kiran Milwood Hargrave and Les Testaments (The Testaments) by Margaret Atwood.

Marine joined HarperCollins France in September 2022 as Editorial Manager, Foreign, in charge of fiction and non-fiction acquisitions. The translated program is made up of 30 titles per year, which used to be mainly crime, with major authors such as Don Winslow, Karin Slaughter, David Lagercrantz and Val McDermid. Marine also recently acquired the first adult thriller by phenomenon Holly Jackson.

Since her arrival, she has launched a new collection of historical women’s fiction to enrich the HarperCollins France list, called “Au gré du monde”. For this collection, she acquired the works of best-selling German author Anne Jacobs, Swedish author Katarina Widholm and American author Adrienne Young. In non-fiction, Marine publishes the memoirs of great personalities such as Pope Francis and the American singer Cher.

Which books do you wish you had published?  

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens; The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker; the Blackwater series by Michael McDowell (which has only recently been published in France in the most gorgeous, innovative way).

Main areas of interest:

• Contemporary literary fiction
• Modern classics
• Narrative non-fiction (current affairs, memoir, politics)

Camila Berto is executive editor at Companhia das Letras in Brazil, where she started her career as an intern in 2015. She edits literary fiction and narrative non-fiction, both domestic and in translation. Some of her authors include Tove Ditlevsen, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alba de Céspedes, Torborg Nedreaas, Montserrat Roig, Raven Leilani, Abdulrazak Gurnah and Hanya Yanagihara. She also works with some of Companhia’s historic authors, such as Italo Calvino, Milan Kundera and Ismail Kadaré. She lives in São Paulo, Brazil.

Companhia das Letras was founded in 1986 with an original focus on literature and humanities, and is Brazil’s leading trade publisher. One of its first titles was To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson, which quickly became a bestseller. In addition to the homonymous imprint dedicated to literary fiction and narrative non-fiction, there are currently 15+ imprints specialised in several audiences and genres, such as Companhia das Letrinhas (children’s books), Penguin-Companhia (classics), Quadrinhos na Cia (graphic novels) and Seguinte (YA). Companhia das Letras publishes around 350 titles per year. Throughout its history, Companhia das Letras has been the home of 6,000+ titles and 30+ Nobel Prize winners.

Their authors include Anna Funder, Tove Ditlevsen, Jorge Luis Borges, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, James Baldwin, José Saramago, Chico Buarque, Mia Couto, Raduan Nassar, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Thomas Mann, Toni Morrison, Sally Rooney, Yuval Noah Harari, Eric Hobsbawm, Malala Yousafzai, Jorge Amado, Italo Calvino, Natalia Ginzburg, Orhan Pamuk, Karl Ove Knausgård, Nadine Gordimer, V.S. Naipaul, Milan Kundera, Ismail Kadaré, Vinicius de Moraes, Svetlana Aleksievitch and Amartya Sen. Since 2018, Penguin Random House has held a major stake in the company.

Which books do you wish you had published?

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong; A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara; The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.

Main areas of interest:

• Literary fiction and non-fiction
• Poetry

Mieke Chew studied at the University of Melbourne and founded the Melbourne-based art and literature magazine Higher Arc in 2011. She moved to New York in 2013 and began her publishing career at Archipelago Books. She has been working at New Directions since 2014 and is currently an editor and the executive director of publicity.

Recent titles include: The Book Against Death by Elias Canetti translated by Peter Filkins, introduced by Joshua Cohen (2024), I Don’t Care by Agota Kristof translated by Chris Andrews (2024), Living Statues by Günter Grass translated by Michael Hofmann (2024), Praiseworthy and Carpentaria by Alexis Wright (2024), The Love of Singular Men by Victor Heringer translated by James Young (2023), Alindarka’s Children by Alhierd Bacharevic translated from Belarussian by Petra Hardt and Russian by Jim Dingley (2023).

Which books do you wish you had published?  

Dodge Rose by Jack Cox; The Notebook trilogy by Agota Kristof; Three by Ann Quin.

Main areas of interest:

• Literary fiction
• Modern classics
• Narrative non-fiction

Lettice Franklin is Publishing Director at Weidenfeld and Nicolson (W&N), a prestigious literary imprint that sits within the Orion Publishing Group at Hachette UK.

In 2021, she appeared on the Bookseller 150 list, a selection of the British and Irish book industry’s 150 most influential people. In 2023, she attended the Toronto International Festival of Authors as a Distinguished Guest.

Her authors include Naoise Dolan, Madeleine Gray, Georgi Gospodinov, Claire Lombardo, Arinze Ifeakandu, Tea Obreht, Stephanie Bishop, Lauren Aimee Curtis, Niamh Campbell, Cathy Sweeney and Maria Semple. Her authors have received the International Booker Prize, the Women’s Prize, the Sunday Times Short Story Award, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the Rooney Prize, amongst others.

In 2020, Lettice launched W&N Essentials, a list of classic books for modern readers. On that list she has published Helen Garner, Jane Bowles, Renata Adler, Vladimir Nabokov, Susanna Moore, JG Farrell, Elspeth Barker and Laurie Colwin.

Before joining W&N, Lettice worked at 4th Estate, where she worked on books by Joan Didion, Craig Brown, Katherine Heiny and Lena Dunham. Prior to that Lettice worked for the scouts, Eccles Fisher Associates, and as a bookseller at Hatchards bookshop. She received an MPhil in English Literature, following a First-Class undergraduate degree, from Cambridge University.

Which books do you wish you had published?

My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley; Citizen by Claudia Rankine; Question 7 by Richard Flanagan.

Main areas of interest:

• Graphic novels
• Literary books for young readers (picture books to YA)
• Literary fiction and non-fiction

Arthur A Levine founded the small independent publisher, Levine Querido in April 2019 after 35 years in publishing. His determination to bring a diverse selection of “The Best of the World’s Literature for Young People” to American readers has been the defining principle in all of his publishing. This has resulted in his being the first to introduce such writers as J.K. Rowling, Markus Zusak, Yu Pei-Yun, Luis Sepulveda and Lee Gee-Eun, while collaborating with great writers such as Shaun Tan, Philip Pullman, and Jaclyn Moriarty.

He sees the search for great talents from around the world as a continuum, with Levine Querido’s hunger for diverse, powerful, unique voices and visions from the multitude of cultures closer to home. LQ’s award-winning publication of Daniel Nayeri, Darcie Little Badger, Donna Barba Higuera, Anton Treuer, Cat Min, and Sacha Lamb exemplify that tradition, giving voice to Black, Latine, Queer, Disabled, Indigenous, and Asian voices as well as those from minority religions.

Which books do you wish you had published?

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat.

Main areas of interest:

• Classics/modern classics
• Commercial fiction (crime and thriller, women’s fiction)
• Literary fiction

Joanna Maciuk holds an MA in Cultural Studies and German Literature from the University of Warsaw. She started out in publishing as the assistant to editor-in-chief of Bertelsmann Media/Świat Książki. Later she moved to Graal Literary agency where for over six years she successfully represented international publishers and agencies as a translation rights agent, mainly focusing on German-speaking countries. She returned to the editorial side of publishing in 2015, to work as an acquiring editor and later editor-in-chief of the Foreign Fiction Department at Proszyński Media.

Since December 2018, Joanna has worked as an acquiring editor for the WAB imprint of Foksal Publishing Group, one of the biggest publishing houses in Poland, focusing on foreign fiction. Founded in 1987, the publishing house is the home to bestselling authors such as Sally Rooney, Alex Michaelides, Milan Kundera, Hanya Yanagihara, Hernan Diaz, Han Kang, Michel Houellebecq and Ali Smith.

Joanna acquires literary and upmarket fiction, classics and modern classics, as well as commercial fiction.

Which books do you wish you had published?   

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan; Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart; Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo; Trespasses by Louise Kennedy; Das achte Leben (fuer Brilka) by Nino Haratischwili; Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens; The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor.

Main areas of interest:

• Adult non-fiction
• Commercial fiction and non-fiction
• Crime fiction

Anna Michels has been at Sourcebooks for more than twelve years and is Editorial Director of Sourcebooks and Poisoned Pen Press. She worked as a historical interpreter, Norwegian tutor, farmhand, and waitress before building a career in books. Anna spearheaded the development of a crime fiction program at Sourcebooks, leading the acquisition of independent, Arizona-based publisher Poisoned Pen Press (PPP).

Since its acquisition by Sourcebooks in 2019, PPP has become one of the US publishing industry’s leading genre imprints and home to #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon Freida McFadden. Anna has acquired and edited multiple bestselling authors under the PPP imprint, including Joshua Moehling, Sulari Gentill and Randall Silvis. In non-fiction, Anna acquired and edited the million-copy bestselling parenting classic 1-2-3 Magic by Thomas W. Phelan, PhD; New York Times bestsellers Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen and College Girl, Missing by Shawn Cohen; and dozens of other impactful books across narrative and prescriptive non-fiction categories.

Along with acquiring for her own list, Anna oversees a team of five editors acquiring broadly across commercial fiction and non-fiction categories.

Which books do you wish you had published?

The Witch Elm by Tana French; The River by Peter Heller; Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger; The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko; The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown.

Main areas of interest:

• Graphic novels
• Middle-grade
• Picture books
• YA

Hannerlie Modderman is the Senior Commissioning Editor for Children’s and YA books at Luitingh-Sijthoff in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. As a child, she was an avid reader, devouring every book she could get her hands on. She studied Journalism and Politics, aiming to become a political journalist, but luckily fate led her to books. While working in a bookshop during her final year of political studies, she became captivated by the transformation of children’s literature. Books for young readers had evolved into works of art, featuring clever writing, engaging characters, and real insights into human emotions.

Hannerlie first worked at a small publishing house focused on children’s and YA books. She later worked with adult books at Prometheus/Bert Bakker, but returned to children’s publishing at Unieboek and Pimento. When Pimento merged with the Moon imprint at Overamstel, Hannerlie partnered with publisher Thille Dop to launch a new children’s and YA list at Luitingh-Sijthoff. Over the last decade, their books have won several jury and literary awards. They publish a wide range of books, from picture books to YA fiction and non-fiction, including both Dutch originals and translations. Their mission: making books that children love to read and that (grand)parents and teachers recommend for their quality. The authors on their list include Jessica Townsend, Meg Rosoff, Jenny Valentine, Benji Davies, Katherine Rundell, Eva Amores, Matt Cosgrove and Aaron Blabey.

Hannerlie attends the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair annually and is honoured to participate in the Creative Australia VIPs program. She is excited to discover and publish voices that inspire and delight young readers.

Which books do you wish you had published?

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; the Homecoming series by Cynthia Voigt; I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson.

Main areas of interest:

• Fantasy
• Middle-grade fiction
• YA fiction (commercial and literary)

Sandra Rothmund has an M.A. in German and English. Her love for books started early and as far back as during her school days she knew that she wanted to become an editor for children’s books and YA. Sandra Rothmund wrote her master’s thesis about children’s fantasy (Lewis Carroll and Michael Ende). Since 2009, she has been an editor at Thienemann-Esslinger Verlag in Stuttgart.

Thienemann-Esslinger Verlag was founded in 1849 and has a long tradition in children’s books and young adult fiction. It is famous for classics such as Krabat, The Little Witch and The Robber Hotzenplotz by Otfried Preußler and Momo and The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. Thienemann also works with contemporary authors such as Oliver Scherz and Davide Morosinotto.

Sandra herself mostly acquires YA fiction (authors include Cindy R. X. He and Steven Herrick) and middle-grade fiction (authors include Julie Berry and Bobbie Pyron). She especially loves to work on literary titles: By the River by Steven Herrick won the most important award for children’s books and YA in Germany, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, in 2019, and Die Sonne, so strahlend und Schwarz by Chantal-Fleur Sandjon won in 2023. Sandra is happy that she also has the opportunity to publish outstanding picture books on the Aladin imprint (authors include Shaun Tan and Benji Davies) and she loves to work on the Elmer series by David McKee.

Which books do you wish you had published?

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas; Looking for Alaska by John Green; 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

Main areas of interest:

• Children’s
• Commercial women’s fiction
• Literary fiction and non-fiction (with a focus on First Nations voices and narratives)
• Saga and romance (including romantasy)
• Suspense
• YA

Daniela Schlingmann is the director of Daniela Schlingmann Literary Scouting (DSLS), one of the world’s largest international literary scouting agencies. Daniela was born in Germany and lives in London; she holds German and British citizenship, and an MA in children’s literature.

Daniela started her publishing career in Frankfurt, the home of the bookfair, where she worked in the editorial department of Eichborn, then an independent publishing house. She took a position as commissioning editor at Random House in Munich soon after, where she acquired fiction from German and international writers and specialised in the Nordic markets for the Heyne list. The acquisition of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fell into her remit and taught her about the great value of literary scouts.

Daniela moved to London in 2005 and founded DSLS. The agency celebrates its 20th year in 2025. The DSLS team of 12 staff serve a broad client base of more than 15 international publishing houses with over 50 imprints. DSLS also scouts for a number of significant film and TV producers. The agency operates out of London, with team members also working from New York City, Stockholm and Barcelona. DSLS scouts books from all genres and all over the world, bringing exciting new voices to new markets and connecting major players of the global publishing world.

Which books do you wish you had facilitated the sale of?

Small Things like These by Claire Keegan; Persepolis by Mariane Satrapi; Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit.

Main areas of interest:

• Crime and thriller
• Fantasy, science-fiction and horror
• Fiction (literary and upmarket)
• Narrative non-fiction (history, current affairs and popular science)

Gray Tan came to publishing as a fantasy nerd, translating A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin when he studied English at National Taiwan University. He started agenting in 2004 and founded his own company, The Grayhawk Agency (GHA), four years later. Today GHA has offices in Taipei and Bangkok, with a team of 27 people, selling translation rights in Taiwan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia on behalf of clients from all over the world. GHA also represents a carefully curated list of Asian authors in the translation markets and has sold their works in over 30 countries.

Mainly a fiction reader, Gray is proud to represent authors such as Khaled Hosseini, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Jonathan Franzen, Hernan Diaz, Rachel Joyce, Barbara Kingsolver, Brandon Sanderson, Gabrielle Zevin, R. F. Kuang, Hugh Howey, Rebecca Yarros, Laura Lippman, Richard Osman, and Michael McDowell.

Some of GHA’s big non-fiction titles are Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson, I May Be Wrong: And Other Wisdoms From Life by Björn Natthiko Lindeblad and Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner.

Gray has a keen interest in Australian authors, especially since his first (short) VIP trip in 2017. He is particularly fond of Australian crime fiction and has sold books by Peter Temple, Michael Robotham, Chris Hammer, Candice Fox, Garry Disher, and Katharine Kovacic. Other highlights include Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland, Prima Facie by Suzie Miller and Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko.

Still a fantasy nerd at heart, Gray is also eager to build connections with Australia’s science-fiction community. Authors he represents include Garth Nix, TR Napper, Angela Slatter, Jo Anderton, Alan Baxter, Jeremy Szal, and Trent Jamieson.

Gray is always happy to talk about his new obsession with the horror genre and audiobooks, with which he does most of his “reading”.

Which books do you wish you had represented?

The Dry by Jane Harper; The Fisherman by John Langan; The Reformatory by Tananarive Due; The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman.

Main areas of interest:

• Graphic novels (ages 8-12, YA and adult)
• Illustrated humour and pop culture
• Illustrated non-fiction and pop science
• Offbeat humour and inspiration
• Puzzles, games, and activity books

Lucas Wetzel is a senior editor at Andrews McMeel Publishing, the home of beloved comic features such as The Far Side by Gary Larson, Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, Doonesbury by G. B Trudeau and The Magic Eye series. He edits and acquires illustrated humour and graphic novel titles, including New York Times bestsellers The Mysteries by Bill Watterson, Fangs by Sarah Andersen, Bad Dreams in the Night by Adam Ellis, and middle-grade children’s series including Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce and Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson. In 2020, he was named a Star Watch honouree by Publisher’s Weekly.

Before editing books, he was an editor in Andrews McMeel’s newspaper and online syndication department and has worked as a newspaper editor, columnist, and feature writer covering arts and culture. As a creative writer, he has taken part in numerous public art initiatives, artist residencies, and independent publishing projects.

He earned degrees in Journalism, English, and Germanic Languages and Literature at the University of Kansas, and also studied at the Universities of Bonn and Hamburg in Germany. He enjoys travel, tennis, music, and meeting authors, artists, and publishing professionals from around the world.

Which books do you wish you had published?

Strange Planet by Nathan Pyle; I Ate The Whole World to Find You by Rachel Ang (my favourite Australian cartoonist); and the Marcel Dzama illustrated version of Momo by Michael Ende.