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, and thriller. She’s also looking for romantic novels that range from the bittersweet to the giddy, exploring love in all its varied facets. She is interested in select narrative nonfiction and philosophical self-help from smart, passionate writers who offer a fresh or niche perspective that turns out toward the world. In all areas she’s especially looking to fill her list with books that celebrate LGBTQ+ voices and BIPOC cultures and perspectives. She is the editor of such books as the Book of the Month club pick A Thousand Times Before by Asha Thanki, New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan, and the Sunday Times bestselling series Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson. Among the authors she has worked with are Sally Wen Mao, Sahaj Kaur Kohli, Tana French, Chanel Miller, Megan Barnard, Tracy Chevalier, Timothy Egan, Brenda Peynado, Gwen Kirby, and Erin Swan, among others.