Simone Roberts-Payne (she/her) is an Assistant Editor at G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers. She came to PYR in 2021, after previously working for Jacqueline Woodson as a research assistant. Simone has assisted on YA projects by Sabaa Tahir, J. Elle, Jessica Goodman, and Sloan Harlow. She has always loved books from a teen perspective and feels like young voices and concerns tell us so much about the current state of the world. She is currently looking to build a list that includes commercial and literary young adult fiction and picture books from BIPOC voices.  She is drawn to dynamic and diverse fiction, with complicated familial or romantic relationships, a hint of mystery, a touch of heartbreak and all things adorable.