Lucia Watson, VP, Editor-in-Chief

Lucia Watson head shot
Blue background with blurred pink and green shapes and the Avery imprint logo

Overview

At Avery we publish nonfiction that doesn’t just change the conversation, it changes lives. Our books span a broad range of categories: health and wellness, psychology, lifestyle, inspiration, personal finance, plant-based cookbooks, and more. Our hallmark is our authors, leading-edge experts and paradigm disrupters who include Nobel Peace Prize recipients, James Beard Award winners, and #1 New York Times bestsellers.

We have recently been proud to publish the #1 New York Times bestseller Atomic Habits by James Clear, which in 2021 was the bestselling nonfiction book in the country three years after publication. Other notable authors include Dr. Casey Means, MD (Good Energy), Dr. Lisa Mosconi, PhD (The Menopause Brain), Joanne Molinaro (The Korean Vegan Cookbook), Adeena Sussman (Shabbat), Judson Brewer, MD, PhD (Unwinding Anxiety), Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, MD (Fiber Fueled), Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW (Daring Greatly), His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (The Book of Joy), Lisa Mosconi, PhD (The XX Brain) and Steve Silberman (NeuroTribes). We are likewise proud of our deep and bestselling backlist. Highlights include Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn, MD., The Wahls Protocol by Terry Wahls, MD., and perhaps the bestselling health and wellness book of all time: Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis Balch, soon to be in its 6th edition.

Meet the Team

Tracy Behar, President and Publisher, Avery and Tarcher

Tracy Behar, President and Publisher of Avery and Tarcher, joined Penguin in 2024. She was previously at Little, Brown and Company, where she served as VP, Publisher, and Editor in Chief of the imprint she founded, Little, Brown Spark.

She publishes in the categories of health, psychology, self-help, science, nature, and reference, and her roster of authors includes Daniel Kahneman, Nicholas Christakis, Walter Mischel, Sue Johnson, Daniel Siegel, Mark Hyman, Andrew Weil, David Perlmutter, Uma Naidoo, Timothy Wilson, John Ratey, and William Sears. Many of her books have been #1 bestsellers and have garnered awards, including the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, and Books for a Better Life.

Lindsay Gordon, Associate Publisher, Director of Publicity and Marketing

Lindsay Gordon is the Associate Publisher and Director of Marketing and Publicity for both Avery and Tarcher. She has spent her career promoting and publicizing non-fiction authors and their books. As Associate Publisher Lindsay oversees all of the customized publicity and marketing campaigns aimed towards securing as much media as possible and effectively getting the books in front of consumers in new and innovative ways.

Lindsay has overseen and worked on the campaigns of numerous New York Times and national bestselling titles, including Atomic Habits by James Clear, Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means, The Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Maté, The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon, Shabbat by Adeena Sussman, The XX Brain by Dr. Lisa Mosconi, Set Boundaries, Find Peace and Drama Free by Nedra Glover Tawwab, The Odd 1s Out by James Rallison and Unwinding Anxiety by Dr. Jud Brewer. Prior to joining Penguin Lindsay worked at the Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group at Random House, Inc.

Lucia Watson, VP, Editor-in-Chief

Lucia Watson, Editor-in-Chief of Avery, began her publishing career as an Editorial Assistant at Viking in 1998 and joined Avery in 2005. She has been instrumental to Avery’s robust growth over the last two decades, acquiring a diverse list in the categories of wellness, personal development, psychology, and cooking.

Her health and wellness bestsellers include books by Will Bulsiewicz, Ann and Jane Esselstyn, Terry Wahls, Stuart Brown, Alan Gordon and Alon Ziv, and Annie Grace, and her acquisition of the New York Times bestselling The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon put Avery on the map in the cookbook space. She has gone on to build Avery’s food list with many New York Times bestsellers and James Beard award winning authors, including Adeena Sussman, Jeanine Donofrio, Madeline Puckette, and Joanne Lee Molinaro.

Anna Paustenbach, Executive Editor

Executive Editor Anna Paustenbach joined Avery in 2024. She was previously Executive Editor at HarperOne, where she published #1 New York Times bestsellers and national bestsellers including The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy, You Were Born for This by Chani Nicholas, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr. Julie Smith, Do Hard Things by Steve Magness, Master of Change by Brad Stulberg, and others. She acquires in the areas of self-help, performance, research-backed books on better living, and progressive spirituality. Overall, Anna gets excited about fresh voices with their own spin on old wisdom. Her list includes forthcoming books by Alexandra Elle, Ben Meer, and Paddy Steinfort.

Jacob Surpin, Executive Editor

Executive Editor Jacob Surpin joined Penguin in 2023, where he publishes a variety of nonfiction, including self-help, big idea/big think, popular science, psychology, business, and high-performance titles. He is especially drawn to books that approach familiar topics from unexpected angles. 

His authors so far have included platform-driven experts, thought leaders, researchers, and spiritual leaders. His upcoming books include titles by Jefferson Fisher, Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Julia Minson, Shunryu Suzuki, Sarah Parcak, Ric Bucher, and Jet Li.

Hannah Steigmeyer, Editor

Editor Hannah Steigmeyer joined Avery and Tarcher in 2017 with a focus on nonfiction in the accessible science and health & wellness space.

She has a special interest in novel entrepreneurial approaches to science, technology, health, and business. Her upcoming books include Fasting Cancer by Valter Longo, PhD, Adaptable by Herman Pontzer, PhD, and Booster Shots by Adam Ratner, MD. She’s edited The Real Body Manual, The Complete Book of Pickleball, Secrets of Giants, Giving Hope, Fuel the Fire, and Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 6th edition and has worked with James Clear (New York Times bestseller Atomic Habits), Gabor Maté, MD (New York Times bestseller The Myth of Normal), Kelly McGonigal, PhD (The Joy of Movement), Judson Brewer, MD, PhD (New York Times bestseller Unwinding Anxiety), and Michael Oher (When Your Back’s Against the Wall).

She grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and graduated from Kenyon College where she double majored in English and Anthropology and minored in Russian Language and Literature.

Isabel McCarthy, Associate Editor

Associate Editor Isabel McCarthy joined the Avery team in 2023. Isabel is looking to acquire cookbooks, as well as wellness and self-help titles.

She has a special interest in plant-forward and sustainable cooking and enjoys working on books where personal stories and food go hand in hand. In the wellness and self-help area, Isabel is focusing on mental health, women’s health, self-care, and sustainability.

Isabel began her full-time publishing career at W.W. Norton where she published a variety of food, nature, health, and lifestyle books. Originally from Pennsylvania, she graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a double major in Creative and Professional writing and a minor in International Studies.

Elisabeth Koyfman, Editorial Assistant

Elisabeth Koyfman joined Avery and Tarcher as an Editorial Assistant in 2024. She earned her B.A. in English Literature from CUNY Baruch College and previously worked at magazines such as Poets & Writers and The New York Review of Books. Elisabeth is interested in prescriptive nonfiction, particularly in the categories of health, wellness, and behavioral psychology. She is especially fascinated by books that explore the workings of the mind and provide readers with tools to improve their daily lives.

Casey Maloney, Director of Publicity

Casey Maloney is the Director of Publicity for both Avery Books and Tarcher. In addition to managing the publicity department and developing publicity strategies for both lists, Casey works directly with many Avery and Tarcher authors and has orchestrated publicity campaigns for breakout bestselling books, including Atomic Habits by James Clear, Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW, Neurotribes by Steve Silberman, The Odd 1s Out by James Rallison, Nine Nasty Words by John McWhorter, The End of Alzheimer’s by Dr. Dale Bredesen and many more.

Farin Schlussel, Director of Marketing

Farin Schlussel is the Director of Marketing for both Avery Books and Tarcher. She has been with Avery since she began her publishing career in 2012. As the Director of Marketing, Farin executes and oversees bespoke campaigns using the most current marketing platforms and data to get books in front of the readers who need them. 

Farin has spearheaded the campaigns for the New York Times and national bestsellers Atomic Habits by James Clear, Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Maté, The Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Neurotribes by Steve Silberman, and the breakout TikTok sensation Burn After Writing by Sharon Jones, among others. She has also worked on multiple projects with Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, Adeena Sussman, Jeanine Donofrio, Rabbi Steve Leder, Bishop Michael Curry, Dr. Lisa Mosconi, Dr. Judson Brewer, Dr. Dale Bredesen, and Dr. Terry Wahls. When she is not cheerleading the latest Avery and Tarcher titles, you can find her snuggling with her rescue dog, Penny, or seeing theatre.