Lucia Watson, Executive Editor

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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 Joanna Molinaro (The Korean Vegan Cookbook), 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

Megan Newman, Senior Vice President and Publisher

Megan Newman, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Avery and TarcherPerigee, joined Penguin in 2004 where her first acquisition was Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselsyn, MD. The book was not only a New York Times bestseller, but laid the foundation for Avery’s role as a leading publisher of cutting-edge books in the areas of health, science, psychology, education, and more. She also established Avery’s cookbook program.

Avery’s bestselling and award-winning authors include James Clear (Atomic Habits), Steve Silberman (Neurotribes), Dwayne Betts (A Question of Freedom), Brene Brown (Daring Greatly), The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (The Book of Joy), Angela Lidden (The Oh She Glows Cookbook), Adeena Sussman (Sababa), Joanne Lee Molinaro (The Korean Vegan Cookbook), Madeline Puckette (Wine Folly), Judson Brewer, MD (Unwinding Anxiety), and many more.

In 2018, she was also appointed the publisher of TarcherPerigee and helped spearhead the growth of the imprint. TarcherPerigee has long focused books in the areas of creativity, spirituality, personal growth and more. With books like The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Attached by Amir Levine, Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab, Start Where You Are by Meera Lee Patel, and The Odd 1s Out and Burn After Writing franchises, TarcherPerigee has set the standard for books that inspire readers to rethink what’s possible.

Caroline Sutton, Editor-in-Chief

Caroline joined the Penguin Publishing Group in 2009 and has been with Avery since 2015.

Her many best sellers include The Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, The End of Alzheimer’s by Dale Bredesen, Unwinding Anxiety by Judson Brewer, The Beauty of What Remains by Steve Leder, The XX Brain by Lisa Mosconi, Mastering Diabetes by Cyrus Khambatta and Robby Barbaro, Fat Chance by Robert Lustig, The First 20 Minutes by Gretchen Reynolds, Mindset by Carol Dweck, and Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley.

She has worked at major imprints, most recently Random House and Ballantine, and her many other distinguished authors include Richard Davidson, Daniel Goleman, Dean Ornish, Tara Parker-Pope, Deborah Tannen, and Andrew Weil.

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 TarcherPerigee. 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, The Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon, The XX Brain by Dr. Lisa Mosconi, I Beat the Odds by Michael Oher, Set Boundaries, Find Peace 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, Executive Editor

Lucia Watson, Executive Editor, began her publishing career as an editorial assistant at Viking in 1999 and joined Avery in 2005.

Lucia acquires a diverse list of bestselling and award-wining books in categories including health, psychology, science, parenting, graphic nonfiction, and cooking. Her New York Times bestselling nonfiction books include Fiber Fueled by Will Bulsiewicz, M.D., Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, M.D., and Marbles by Ellen Forney. She also edits Robynne Chutkan, M.D., Terry Wahls, M.D., and Annie Grace.

Her cookbook list includes the New York Times bestselling The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon, the James Beard award-winning Wine Folly books by Madeline Puckette (published in 25+ countries), Sababa by Adeena Sussman, Jeanine Donofrio’s Love and Lemons cookbooks, The Chef’s Garden by Farmer Lee Jones, and Joanne Lee Molinaro’s The Korean Vegan Cookbook.

Nina Shield, Executive Editor

Executive Editor Nina Shield joined TarcherPerigee and Avery in 2017 with a focus on prescriptive non-fiction.

Nina acquires inspiration, self-improvement, personal growth, creativity, spirituality, wellness, and workbook/journals for TarcherPerigee, and mental health, functional medicine, parenting, and cookbooks/nutrition for Avery.

Authors she has worked with include James Clear (New York Times bestseller Atomic Habits), John McWhorter (New York Times bestseller Nine Nasty Words), Bishop Michael Curry (Love is the Way), Alexandra Caspero and Whitney English (The Plant-Based Baby and Toddler), Jordan Reid and Erin Williams (The Big Activity Book for Anxious People), Gabriela Herstik (Inner Witch), Kelly McGonigal (The Joy of Movement), Talia Pollock (Party in Your Plants), Kristy Shen (Quit Like a Millionaire), Jason Dearen (Kill Shot), Emily Winter (One Day Smarter), Matt McCarthy, MD (Superbugs), and Joe Saul-Sehy and Emily Guy Birken (Stacked).

Hannah Steigmeyer, Associate Editor

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

She has a special interest in novel entrepreneurial approaches to science, technology, health, and business. She is the Editor of Giving Hope, Fuel the Fire, and Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 6th edition and has worked with James Clear (New York Times bestseller Atomic Habits), Bishop Michael Curry (Love is the Way), Kelly McGonigal (The Joy of Movement), Dr. Jud Brewer (Unwinding Anxiety), and Dr. Dale Bredesen (The End of Alzheimer’s). She also assists Vice President and Publisher Megan Newman.

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.

Suzy Swartz, Assistant Editor

Suzy Swartz joined Avery in 2017. She works with Lucia Watson on books like The Korean Vegan Cookbook by Joanne Lee Molinaro, The Alcohol Experiment by Annie Grace, Fiber Fueled by Will Bulsiewicz, MD, Sababa by Adeena Sussman, and The Gracias Madre Cookbook. Suzy’s first acquisition was The Zero-Waste Chef by Anne-Marie Bonneau, and she is interested in cookbooks, women’s health, and personal growth.