A

brams Appleseed aims to foster the development of babies,

toddlers, and preschoolers by engaging themand their parents

through artful, beautifully conceived books. Each board book, novelty book,
and picture book is informed by a precise knowledge of its intended audience;
the content expands on what the child already knows to transform his or her
perception of the world. Abrams Appleseed has garnered critical acclaim for
books such as Pantone: Colors, Janik Coats Hippoposites, Stephen Krensky
and Sara Gillinghams Now I Am Big!, Barney Saltzbergs Andrew Drew and
Drew, and Eric Barclays I Can See Just Fine.

Abrams Books
for Young Readers

brams Books for Young Readers grew out of a tradition of beautiful

art books, and since its founding in 2014 the imprint has published engaging,

well-designed, and innovative illustrated fiction and nonfiction for children. ABYRs
books include award winners and bestsellers. Some of its exceptional illustrators are
Graeme Base, Laurent de Brunhoff, Nikki McClure, Duncan Tonatiuh, Jolle Jolivet,
and Peter Reynolds; and its highly regarded writers and poets include Laura Numeroff,
Susan Orlean, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Andrea Beaty, and Cynthia Rylant. Among its
distinguished nonfiction authors are Tonya Bolden, Jan Greenberg, Robert Burleigh,
and Susan Goldman Rubin. ABYRs fiction runs the gamut from sweet to playful for
ages four through eight, while the nonfiction includes fully illustrated biographies for
young readers and longer, more detailed illustrated books for middle-grade readers.

AMULET BOOKS

mulet Books publishes fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels for

middle-grade and teen readers. The ideal Amulet title has sparkling writing and

a unique point of view that appeals to kids and teens. Books on the Amulet list are not
afraid to challenge the form and design of a traditional novel. Examples include the
ttyl series by Lauren Myracle (the first novel in instant messages), Meanwhile by Jason
Shiga (an interactive graphic novel), and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid was the first of the hybrid novels and has sold over 150 million
copies worldwide. Our books have been award winnerslike Margi Preuss Newbery
Honor book Heart of a Samuraiand bestsellerslike Michael Buckleys Sisters Grimm
and NERDS series and Tom Anglebergers Origami Yoda series.

ince the inception of Abrams in 1949, we have identified and celebrated

contemporary and groundbreaking art, championing burgeoning creative forms

and presenting them to the public in beautifully produced and authoritatively written
illustrated books. With the launch of Abrams ComicArts in the spring of 2009, Abrams
recognizes and publishes award-winning art books and graphic novels that illuminate the
world of comics and comics art. Our goal is to maintain the fine-art tradition for which
Abrams is known while defining the medium of comics and comics art for generations
to come.

Illustration by Matthew Cordell

Tamar Brazis

amar Brazis believes that most things

in life can be learned from reading Arnold

Lobels Frog and Toad series. Her (obsessive) love

for this duo has informed much of her sensibility
toward working on childrens books. Tamar received

Editorial Director

her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and her MFA

from The New School, with a concentration in
poetry. After working at HarperCollins, she moved
to Abrams, where she has focused on picture books
and middle-grade fiction for over eleven years,
along with a list of music-related adult titles.
Some of her projects include the New York
Timesbestselling Jellybeans series by Laura Numeroff; The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier; The
Museum, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds; Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews and Bryan Collier; and
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson
and David Shannon.
Tamar has a soft spot for doughnut shops,
Dante, and Baby, Its You by the Shirelles. Shes
still hoping to find the next Frog and Toad.

Illustration by Cece Bell

Editorial Assistant

Orlando Dos reis

O

rlando Dos Reiss love for childrens books

writing and cinema. From there, he went on to Kansas

began at an early age when he came across

State University where he taught college composition

a little series called Animorphs by K. A. Applegate.

courses and received an MA in childrens and young

He knew these books so well, in fact, that he started

adult literature. (He wrote his thesis on Harry Potter;

writing fan fiction based on the seriesand he even

ask him about it sometime.)

created business cards for himself as an Animorphs

Orlando began working for Abrams Books for

ghostwriter! But Orlandos love affair with childrens

Young Readers and Amulet in January 2014 after

books didnt end there: His two favorite series for chil-

graduating with a certificate in publishing from the

dren remain Eoin Colfers Artemis Fowl series and, of

Denver Publishing Institute and a Managing Editorial

course, J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter series. Some ten

internship at Bloomsbury USAand he is loving every

years later, Orlandos passion for reading and writing

minute of it.

led him to Virginia Tech where he studied creative

Illustration by Jen Corace

Erica Finkel

Associate Editor

rowing up in Maryland, Erica Finkel

picture books through young adult novels, including

could often be found on the sidelines of her

Fraidyzoo (an ALA Notable Book), My Basmati

brothers Little League games with a big stack of

Bat Mitzvah, and the Winterkill series. She focuses

Nancy Drew books or anything by Madeleine LEngle

on fiction, and would like to especially acquire

or Sharon Creech. She earned a BA in English Liter-

contemporary realism and fantasy that straddles

ature from Tufts University and taught English in a

the literary and commercial divide. She loves atmo-

teeny town in France, where she often felt like Belle

spheric fantasy series like Graceling and Girl of Fire

in the opening sequence of Beauty and the Beast.

and Thorns, smart romance in the vein of Rainbow

After returning to the States and earning an MA in

Rowell and Lauren Myracle, and boy narrators with

Publishing and Writing from Emerson College, she

lots of feelings, such as in the work of Andrew Smith,

moved to New York to take a job at Abrams in 2010.

Gary Schmidt, and Tim Tharp.

She now works on a wide variety of projects from

Illustration by Fiona Robinson

Editor

Anne heltzel
A

nne Heltzels dream as a child, accord-

worked primarily on YA titles such as the New York

ing to her middle school diary, was to become

Times bestselling Seizure, by Kathy Reichs and the

a book editor. Her other dream was to become Betsy

Edgar Award nominated How to Lead a Life of Crime

from the Betsy-Tacy series. Neither seemed likely to

by Kirsten Miller. She is delighted to have joined the

come true; but the fact that one did contributes to

Abrams family, where she is acquiring with an empha-

her continued belief in magic. A desire to cultivate a

sis on young adult fiction.

sense of wonder in other children cemented her love

for childrens publishing.

An adventurous soul, Anne has lived in India

and France, where she wrote, au paired, and free-

Anne earned her BA in the Program of Liberal

lance edited for NYC publishing houses. She is also

Studies from Notre Dame and her MFA from The

the author of three published novels. When she is not

New School. Her career in publishing began at Curtis

reading, writing, or editing, Anne can be found rifling

Brown Ltd., where she was an assistant to a literary

through thrift store racks or putting in park time with

agent in the Childrens Department. Shortly thereafter

her affable pup.

she moved to an imprint of Penguin Group, where she

Charles
Kochman

Illustration by Ross MacDonald

Editorial Director

harles Kochman joined Abrams in 2005.

Prior to Abrams, Kochman spent twelve years

He is the editorial director of Abrams ComicArts

as the first editor of licensed publishing at DC Com-

and the editor of the #1 bestselling Diary of a Wimpy

ics and MAD Magazine, where he launched the MAD

Kid series by Jeff Kinney. Kochman has edited

Books imprint and edited the companys first New

several hundred books for all age groups, including

York Times bestseller, The Death and Life of Super-

picture books by Jon J Muth and Ross MacDonald;

man. Kochman started his career in 1985 at PlayValue

middle-grade novels by Jon Scieszka; retrospectives

books, an imprint of G.P. Putnams Sons, and in 1987 he

on Rube Goldberg, Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman,

became an editor at Bantam Books, where he edited

Charles M. Schulz, Maurice Sendak, and William

the Choose Your Own Adventure series and the first

Steig; definitive monographs in collaboration with

middle-grade Star Wars publishing program. A grad-

Daniel Clowes, Jules Feiffer, Jaime Hernandez, and

uate of Brooklyn College with a BA in childrens liter-

Alex Ross (with designer Chip Kidd); award-winning

ature, Kochman is a member of the National Cartoon-

graphic novels, including Moms Cancer by Brian

ists Society and the Society of Illustrators, and is on

Fies, Nat Turner by Kyle Baker, Yiddishkeit by Harvey

the board of advisers for the San Diego Comic-Cons

Pekar, and My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf; and

Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writ-

collections with Harry Bliss, George Booth, Robert

ing, the Spectrum Art Annual, and the Museum of

Crumb, Al Jaffee, Franoise Mouly, Art Spiegelman,

Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA).

and the Topps Company.

Howard Reeves
Illustration by Dan Kirk

Editor-at-Large

oward W. Reeves is the founder and

former publisher of the Abrams childrens

books program. Today, as editor-at-large, he edits a

wide range of picture books, illustrated nonfiction,
and novels.He has always been intrigued by faraway
places and people who have had very different experiences from his own. As a child, he was taught by
his parentsboth teachersa sense of fairness and
equality for all people. These early life lessons and
interests, along with his love of whimsy and beautiful
things, such as fine art, played heavily in his choosing
childrens books as his lifes profession. And these
lessons and interests are reflected in the books he edits,
such as the novel Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus,
winner of a Newbery Honor, about a Japanese boy
living in the nineteenth century who helped open the
doors of Japan to the Western World, and Maritcha: A
Nineteen-Century American Girl, winner of the Coretta
Scott King Honor, about a free young black girl living
in New York City before the Civil War. Other books
he has edited include Mammoths and Mastodons by
Cheryl Bardoe, an Orbis Pictus Honor book, published
with the Field Museum, Chicago; and George Bellows:
Painter with a Punch by Robert Burleigh, published
with The National Gallery of Art.

Illustration by Amy Ignatow

icole Sclamas love affair with books

began before she could read, when she

would trick her parents into reading extra

bedtime stories every night. Her fear of having to

Nicole
Sclama

say Im between books right now inspired her

to carry two books with her wherever she went,
just in case she finished one. Although she finds
it impossible to pick a favorite book, she reads
The Phantom Tollbooth every summer. Frequent
trips to Barnes & Noble while growing up led to
a position as a part-time bookseller there during
her senior year of high school. She continued to
work for Barnes & Noble throughout college, and
she became the Childrens Lead in the downtown
Washington, D.C., store after graduating from

Assistant Editor

The Catholic University of America with a BA in

English Literature. Surrounded by old and new
favorites, Nicole enjoyed sharing her passion for
reading with every customer.
Nicole began working for Abrams Appleseed and Abrams ComicArts in September
2013 after completing her MA in the humanities
with a concentration in English Literature from
the University of Chicago. She is excited to be
working on books that will make reading as
much fun for others as it is for her.

Illustration by Chuck Groenink

Traci
TODD
Executive Editor

raci Todd grew up in a high-rise

apartment in downtown Chicago. There was

no walking to the playground or running outside

to play. Her most effective escape plan was to get
lost between the pages of a favorite book. Today,
she still has some of her childhood favorites, worn
and faded, shelved at the very top of her bright
yellow bookcase. These booksand how much
she loved them are the things she keeps in mind
as she shapes the Appleseed list.

Bell

nb
yC
ece
Illu
str
ati
o

Susan Van Metre

Senior Vice President & Publisher

usan Van Metre is one of four children.

that siblings can be friends!). She still has a soft spot

She grew up in a peripatetic military family.

for family stories, but she is a true omnivore, devouring

She feels these two facts shaped her into a devoted

fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary, romance, historical

reader of childrens literature. If youve never noticed,

fiction, and magical realism in equal measure. She

she will point out to you that some of the greatest

particulary loves editing middle grade fiction. She

books in the canon feature families with four children:

attended Mount Holyoke College and the Radcliffe

the Narnia Chronicles, Half Magic, Little Women, The

Publishing Course, and began her publishing career

Moffats, Meet the Austins, The Greengage Summer,

at Dutton Childrens Books before moving to Abrams

The Swiss Family Robinson, the Boxcar Children, and

to launch the Amulet Books imprint. She feels very

the Bobbsey Twins (had to be included!). Growing up

lucky that books continue to be part of her everyday

in many places meant that Susan depended on books

life, keeping her company and shaping her in so many

and siblings for friendship (and books to convince her

ways.

Illustration by David Roberts

Chad Beckerman
Creative Director

had W. Beckerman is an awardwinning designer and creative director at

ABRAMS, where he oversees the design of picture

books, novels and graphic novels under the Abrams
Appleseed, Abrams Books for Young Readers,
Amulet Books, and Abrams ComicArts imprints.
He is the designer behind such successful
childrens series as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Origami
Yoda, NERDS Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales,
Frank Einstein and The Terrible Two.
He has been a judge for several illustration
competitions such as Society Of Illustrators Annual
53, Communication Arts Illustration Annual 54:
2013, American Illustration 32, 2014 SCBWI New
York Show Illustration, and the New York Book
Show 2014.
He studied illustration at the Rhode Island
School of Design.
Follow him @chadwbecks on Instagram and
Twitter.

Illustration by Matthew Cordell

Junior Designer

essie Gang has been 4'11 and a s ince

the eighth grade. The few pros to her ador-

ably underwhelming stature has been buying

Jessie
Gang

movie tickets at the child's admission price, going

to NYC playgrounds without accompanying a child,
and roaming the children's selection at bookstores
without judgement. Over the past 20 plus years,
Jessie has read countless YA and middle-school
books. Her favorites include The Gammage Cup,
the Wind Singer trilogy, the Mysterious Benedict
Society series, and of course, the Harry Potter
series.
After graduating from the School of Visual Arts
for graphic design, Jessie has been lucky enough
to have found her dream job here at Abrams! She
is absolutely thrilled to be a part of the narrative
process and is ever grateful to the Abrams team.
During her time here, Jessie has worked on titles
such as In, Dr. Critchlores School for Minions,
Explorers: The Hidden Doors, High and Dry, the
Mini Myths series, and The Soldiers Secret paperback edition.
Follow Jessie on instagram @littlemissgang.

Illustration by Jen Corace

Associate Art Director

Maria Middleton
M

aria T. Middleton left the first day of

York Times award-winning Splintered series by A. G.

kindergarten in tears. She hadnt, that very

Howard; the Pura Belpr Honor and Sibert Honor

day, learned how to read. Determined, Maria cut her

winner Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh;

teeth on Little Golden books and Dr. Seuss before

and the Internet Girls series by Lauren Myracle. Maria

sinking into classics such as Matilda, Tales of the Fourth

lives in Brooklyn in a studio apartment filled with

Grade Nothing, The Secret Garden, A Wrinkle in Time,

and The Hobbit. (She was often caught reading library
books under her desk during class.) After graduating from Parsons School of Design, Maria began
her publishing career at HarperCollins and in 2007
joined the Abrams team. As Associate Art Director
for Abrams Kids, Maria has designed a wide range of
childrens and young adult titles including the New

books.

Illustration by Nathan Hale

Alyssa nasser

Senior Designer

lyssa Nassner is an illustrator and hand

letterer from Maryland, now living and working

in New York. She earned her BFA in illustration from

the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
Prior to joining the Abrams team, Alyssa was a textile
designer for Target corporate in Minneapolis, MN. In
addition to designing for Abrams, Alyssa has illustrated books for the Appleseed Montessori series;
and her new illustrated Appleseed book, Lullabies &
Kisses Sweet, will be released this spring. She has also
illustrated and designed projects for a wide array of
clients including JoAnn Fabrics, American Greetings,
Galison, McSweeney's, Hallmark, Chronicle Books,
and more. Her interests outside of work include eating
donuts, napping, playing with dogs, and reading her
daily horoscope.

Illustration by Frank Camuso

Senior Designer

Pamela
NOTARANTONIO

amela Notarantonio is a graphic

designer with a love for type and bold color.

She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of

Design and has worked in publishing since 2005.
Since starting at Abrams in the summer of 2014,
Pamela has designed a wide range of books
including The Age of Selfishness, Just So Happens,
Capital Days, Wild Child, and Whose Truck? She
designed new series branding for Rutabaga: The
Adventure Chef, The Creeps, and The Qwikpick
Papers series covers: Poop Fountain! and The Rat
with the Human Face. Pamela lives in Astoria and
loves to cook, play softball, practice yoga, and
watch movies.

Illustration by Alyssa Nasser

Emily
Dowdell
Marketing and
Publicity Assistant

mily Dowdell r ecently moved to New

York from Marietta, Georgia, where she spent

most of her childhood curled up in various corners

with a book. She graduated from the University of
Alabama with a degree in English and minors in
Spanish and Creative Writing, and is also a graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course. Before
starting as Marketing and Publicity Assistant at
Abrams in 2014, she interned with The University of
Alabama Press and August House, Inc, an independent publisher based in Atlanta. At Abrams, Emily
works with books from all of the childrens imprints,
in addition to assisting the rest of the department.
She likes to spend her spare time exploring her new
city, and is always on the lookout for good biscuits
and barbecue in New York.

Illustration by Amy Ignatow

Morgan
Dubin
Marketing & Publicity Associate

organ Dubin moved to New York

City in 2010, excited to be part of the book

publishing universe! She graduated from Emerson

College in Boston with a degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing, with a minor in Marketing.
Morgan interned with Westchester magazine, Teen
Voices, Eye on Education, and Harvard Common
Press; but she has always loved childrens books
and is thrilled to be at Abrams Books, where she
started as an assistant in April 2012. A few Abrams
favorites that shes had the pleasure of working on
include the Popularity Papers series, Pancho Rabbit
and the Coyote, Plutos Secret, The Five Lives of
Our Cat Zook, and My Basmati Bat Mitzvah.
In her spare time, Morgan loves to dance;
design; travel for delicious food, coffee, and
cocktails; and explore New York City. Her heart
is full of photography, yoga, baking, roof access,
road trips, and deep-bodied Cabernets. Morgan
currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Nicole Russo

Illustration by Sara Gillingham

Director of Marketing & Publicity

s Director of Marketing and Publicity,

Nicole Russo spearheads the marketing efforts

for Abrams Appleseed and also works with authors

such as Lauren Myracle and Nikki McClure. Nicole was
most recently Deputy Director of Publicity at Simon &
Schuster Childrens Publishing, where she had worked
since 2005. During her tenure at S&S, she managed
campaigns for Cassandra Clares New York Times
bestselling Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices
series and helped cultivate the careers of such bestselling authors as Ellen Hopkins, Lisa McMann, Holly
Black, Peter Brown, andMem Fox.
After graduating from the University of Scranton
with a degree in Communication, Nicole started her
career in publishing at Random House and has also
worked in consumer product public relations and
marketing. Growing up, Nicole was an avid Nancy
Drew reader, and if she wasnt busy promoting childrens books, she would be off using her super sleuth
skills to solve mysteries like Nancy. What Nicole
loves most about her job is helping people discover
wonderful books.

Illustration by Dan Santat

Jason
Wells

Executive Director of Marketing & Publicity

ason M. Wells started his career in pub-

cations, he has worked in marketing and/or publicity

lishing at the age of sixteen at reference-book

positions at Penguin, DK Publishing, Hyperion/Disney,

publisher PBC International. While there, he worked

and Simon & Schuster. He joined Abrams in 2002 and

on the book Childrens Book Illustration and Design,

has led Childrens Marketing and Publicity here ever

edited by Julie Cummins, which spurred his interest

since. Jason holds an MA in information science from

in childrens book publishing as a career. Since gradu-

Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and is a regular part of the

ating from SUNY Oneonta with a degree in Communi-

staff of the Columbia Publishing Course.

Illustration by Fiona Robinson

James Armstrong

Managing Editor

im Armstrong has worked for a variety of

Park), which he copyedited. He has been at Abrams

book publishers over the years. He began

since 2011 and before that was copy chief at Random

with college textbooks, then moved to adult trade

House, Knopf, and Crown and managing editor at

books, and finally discovered the best kind of books

Clarion. Jim is a graduate of Williams College and also

of all: childrens books. He has overseen the edito-

of the publishing program at New York University. His

rial production of many wonderful books, including

hobbies include traveling by train in remote parts of

Caldecott Medal winners, Newbery Honor Books, and

the world and rooting for the Boston Red Sox.

a Newbery Award winner (A Single Shard, by Linda Sue

Illustration by Fiona Robinson

Senior Managing Editor

Jen Graham
A

native Floridian, Jen Graham studied

lanced for Abrams beginning in 2009 before being

English and Womens Studies at the Univer-

hired full-time in 2011. When shes not revising sched-

sity of Florida and began her book publishing career

ules or debating comma placement at Abrams, shes

at the University Press of Florida. She moved to New

probably reading a novel, knitting a sweater, riding

York in 2007 to work at Random Houses Potter Craft

her bike, or taking psychological tests for her ther-

imprint as a developmental editor of craft books. Since

apist-in-training boyfriend. She spent her childhood

then, shes edited test-prep titles at the Princeton

rereading A Little Princess and Anne of Green Gables,

Review and romance novels at Avalon Books, while

and she cant believe she gets to read books for a

copyediting and proofreading for Simon & Schuster,

living.

Chronicle, Open Road, and Readers Digest. She free-