Marissa Davis, Editorial Assistant

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…

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Camille LeBlanc, Associate Editor

Camille LeBlanc works with Allison Lorentzen. She is drawn to fiction and nonfiction that explore timeless questions in contemporary contexts; character-driven stories that illuminate geopolitical tensions; and books that are funny, perspective-altering, and have an element of suspense. She joined Viking Penguin in 2020 after working as an editorial fellow at Lit Hub and as…

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Allie Merola, Editor

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…

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Jenn Houghton, Publishing Associate

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,…

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Ibrahim Ahmad, Executive Editor

Ibrahim Ahmad joined Viking as executive editor in 2021. His nonfiction interests include current affairs, politics, history, science and technology, biography, business, and pop culture. He also publishes an eclectic array of literary fiction and crime fiction, with a particular focus on incendiary, urgent voices that subvert and expand the existing literature. His first title…

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Nidhi Pugalia, Editor

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,…

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Marie Michels, Editor

Marie Michels (she/her) joined Pamela Dorman Books in 2020. She’s looking for rom-coms that actually make her laugh out loud, and fiction ranging from commercial to book club. She’s drawn to characters with interesting jobs or hobbies, a skillful balance of grief and humor (think The Big Chill), and group dynamics, especially among friends and siblings.

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Zora Squish Pruitt, Editorial Assistant

Zora Squish Pruitt (they/them) is a genderqueer pun specialist full-time editorial assistant. After graduating with a BFA in Creative Writing from Ringling College of Art and Design, they were a 2021 We Need Diverse Books internship grant recipient and editorial intern with Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group before starting at Dial. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, they spent their…

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David Howe, Associate Editor

David Howe joined Dutton as an Associate Editor in 2024 and acquires a wide range of nonfiction. On the prescriptive side, he looks for books that lead to healthier lives or demystify transformative concepts for a broader audience, written by authors who combine rigorous research with commercial appeal. In narrative nonfiction, he’s most interested in…

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