Team Member
Daphne Ming Durham, Executive Editor
Daphne Ming Durham joined Putnam in 2023 from MCD / Farrar, Straus & Giroux and publishes genre-blurring fiction with sharp edges, diverse perspectives, and spiky protagonists. She loves voice-driven, surprising novels that readers might devour in one sitting, but come away having learned something—vivid, gripping stories that upend familiar tropes and push boundaries in crime,…
Read MoreJacob Surpin, Senior Editor
Jacob Surpin joined TarcherPerigee in the spring of 2023, where he focuses on personal transformation, popular science, outdoors/nature, performance, and creativity titles. He is especially drawn to books that cut against expectation in some way or that reveal or draw on something previously hidden – ideas, stories, insights, teachings, or practices that can impact our…
Read MoreLauren O’Neal, Senior Editor
Lauren O’Neal joined Tarcher in 2023 and edits a wide variety of books in the practical nonfiction space. She is particularly interested in books about mental health and psychology, neurodiversity (ADHD and autism), progressive Christianity and religion, and nature. Before Tarcher, Lauren was an editor at SoHo Publishing and at Callisto Media, where she worked on everything…
Read MoreElla Kurki, Assistant Editor
Ella Kurki joined Dutton in February 2023, after starting her career at Penguin Michael Joseph in London. She loves voice and character-driven fiction with unique storytelling and unpredictable characters. On the nonfiction side, she’s interested in deeply researched stories that entertain, educate, and engage with contemporary issues. Ella has editorially contributed to Cherry Lou Sy’s…
Read MoreNora Alice Demick, Director of Marketing
Nora Alice Demick leads the marketing team and has built numerous campaigns for bestselling and award-winning authors including Marlon James, Randall Munroe, Jerry Saltz, Emma Straub, and Hernan Diaz, among others.
Read MoreIsabelle Alexander, Assistant Editor
Isabelle Alexander (she/her/hers) joined Penguin Life in January 2023 assisting Meg Leder and Amy Sun. She graduated with an International Relations B.A. from Tufts University. After working as an administrative assistant at a healthcare facility, she transitioned to the world of publishing and enjoys nonfiction books from diverse voices that interrogate the established systems of…
Read MoreElizabeth Pham Janowski, Assistant Editor
Elizabeth Pham Janowski (she/her) joined Viking in March 2023. She is the assistant to Andrea Schulz and Ibrahim Ahmad. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in history and film studies and received her master’s in journalism from Columbia University. Her passions include incisive cultural criticism, investigative reporting, and narrative-driven…
Read MorePaloma Ruiz, Editorial Assistant
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…
Read MoreLeila Sandlin, Assistant Editor
Leila joined Portfolio in April 2023. She’s excited to acquire and edit idea-driven nonfiction by brilliant thinkers and innovators who change the way we see the world, and to amplify marginalized and underrepresented voices. She graduated from New York University with a BA in linguistics. Before moving to New York, she lived in Jackson Hole,…
Read MoreHelen Rouner, Editor
Helen Rouner is an Editor at Penguin Press, where she was named Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch “Superstar” in 2025. Her list includes books by Spencer Ackerman, Max Chafkin, Lauren Christensen, Michael Clune, Bruce Feiler, Mark Ford, and Ernest Freeberg, among others, and she works on the Significations series curated by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. She…
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