Posts by mmichels

Paloma Ruiz joined Viking in March 2022, assisting Wendy Wolf and Emily Wunderlich. She graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in English, and is drawn to interdisciplinary nonfiction which explores history, science, medicine, women’s health, and the environment. She also enjoys magical realism, prose-poetry, and lyrical, genre-bending narratives. She is a former research assistant…

Jenn Houghton (she/her) joined Viking Penguin in October 2021 and assists Brian Tart and Nina Rodriguez-Marty. She graduated with a Creative Writing B.A. from William Paterson University which she earned while managing a retail business in Montclair, New Jersey. Moving on from small business, she entered the world of publishing with a passion for absurdist…

Marissa Davis (she/her) joined Viking, Penguin Books, and Penguin Classics in 2021 as an assistant to John Siciliano and Ibrahim Ahmad. Originally from Kentucky, she graduated from Vanderbilt University before pursuing her MFA in poetry from New York University. Prior to joining Viking Penguin, she interned at Frances Goldin Literary Agency, served as a translations…

Camille LeBlanc acquires fiction and nonfiction for Viking Penguin. She is drawn to literary and upmarket fiction with an irresistible voice and hook, character-driven crime, suspense, and thrillers, and novels that offer a fresh lens on the world—whether through an evocative sense of place, sharp social critique, or an innovative speculative premise. On the nonfiction…

Allie Merola acquires fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for Viking Penguin and Penguin Poets. She is interested in literary and upmarket fiction with a distinctive voice and pitch; mystery and suspense novels with complex, unusual characters and a strong sense of place; narrative, idea-driven, and multidisciplinary nonfiction and essays across a wide range of subjects—including youth…

Jenn Houghton (she/her) joined Viking Penguin in October 2021 and assists Brian Tart. She graduated with a Creative Writing B.A. from William Paterson University, which she earned while managing a retail business in Montclair, New Jersey. Moving on from small business, she entered the world of publishing with a passion for absurdist fiction, introspective narratives,…

Nidhi Pugalia joined Viking Penguin in 2019, after beginning her editorial career at Grand Central Publishing. In fiction, she is drawn to lyrical writing and propulsive plotting in the speculative, grounded science fiction/fantasy, and magical realism spaces with a particular emphasis on books that can cross with other categories like romance, historical fiction, psychological suspense,…

Terezia Cicel joined Viking in 2018, after several years at Knopf and Blue Rider Press. She edits serious and narrative nonfiction in a wide range of topics, including history, science, big idea, current affairs, true crime, pop culture, and more. Her list includes best-selling and award-winning books by authors such as Vaclav Smil, Dan Jones,…