PARTICIPATING MENTORS

2026 Participating Mentors

Below is a list of mentors for the 2026 conference. Please note that this list, as in past years, is subject to change. There are sometimes unforeseeable last minute circumstances that may result in a mentor's cancellation.

NOTE: Some of our council members will also mentor at this year's conference.

Editors, Agents and Designers

• Foyinsi Adegbonmire, Editor, Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan 
• Erica Bauman, Literary Agent, Aevitas Creative Management 
• Anjali Bisaria, Assistant Editor, Scholastic
• Amanda Bradley, Editorial Assistant, Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan 
• Marilyn Brigham, Senior Editor, Two Lions/Amazon
• Russ Busse, Executive Editor, Scholastic
• Claire Callahan, Editorial Assistant, HarperCollins
• Andrea Cascardi, Senior Literary Agent, Transatlantic Agency 
• Stefanie Chin, Editor, Union Square Kids
• Nicole de la Heras, Executive Art Director, Penguin Random House 
• Kade Dishmon, Assistant Editor, Peachtree
• Emily Duffy, Editorial Assistant, Union Square/Hachette 
• Shannon Gallagher, Agent, Wernick & Pratt
• Caylee Gardner, Editorial Assistant, Knopf/Penguin Random House
• AZ Hackett, Assistant Editor, Viking/Penguin Random House
• Shannah Harris, Editorial Assistant, Greenwillow/HarperCollins
• Allison Hellegers, Agent, Stimola Literary Studio
• Alexandra Hinrichs, Editor, Islandport Press 
• Jasmine Hodge, Associate Editor, Random House BFYR/Penguin Random House
• Sarah Hokanson, Associate Art Director, Penguin Random House 
• Ilana Jacobs, Editorial Assistant, Dutton/Penguin Random House
• Emily Sylvan Kim, President, Prospect Agency
• Jojo Lee, Editorial Assistant, Putnam/Penguin Random House
• Sylvie LeFloc’h, Associate Art Director, Greenwillow/HarperCollins
• Emma Leynse, Editorial Assistant, Delacorte/Penguin Random House
• Aliza Li, Editorial Assistant, Holiday House
• Monique Lowe, Editorial Assistant, HarperCollins
• Alex Lu, Editor, Random House Graphic/Penguin Random House
• Kerry Martin, Creative Director, Holiday House and Peachtree
• Emilia McFerrin, Editorial Assistant, Kokila/Penguin Random House
• Sean McCarthy, Agent, Sean McCarthy Literary Agency 
• Janna Morishima, Agent, Janna Co. Literary Agency 
• Nan Munger, Editorial Assistant, Putnam/Penguin Random House
• Dena Neusner, Executive Editor, Apples and Honey Press 
• Anuoluwapo Ohioma, Editor, Freedom Fire and Disney Hyperion
• Rachel Orr, Agent, Prospect Agency
• Matt Phipps, Editor, Putnam/Penguin Random House 
• Annette Pollert-Morgan, Executive Editor, Sourcebooks Fire & Sourcebooks Kids
• Simone Roberts-Payne, Associate Editor, Putnam/Penguin Random House
• Ciera Robinson, Editorial Assistant, Flamingo/Penguin Random House
• Cianna Sanford, Assistant Editor, Scholastic
• Havilah Sciabbarrasi, Editorial Assistant, Random House BFYR/Penguin Random House
• Tova Seltzer, Assistant Editor, Neal Porter Books/Holiday House
• Tracy Shaw, Art Director, Little, Brown/Hachette
• Claire Stetzer, Senior Editor, Amulet/Abrams
• Roddyna St. Paul, Editorial Assistant, Little, Brown/Hachette
• Maggie Tattersfield, Assistant Agent, CAT Agency 
• Ivan Taurisano, Associate Editor, First Second/Macmillan 
• Tionne Townsend, Assistant Editor, Simon & Schuster 
• Amy Manzo Toth, Associate Art Director, Holiday House
• Lerina Velazquez, Associate Editor, Scholastic
• Allison Weintraub, Associate Editor, Quill Tree/HarperCollins
• Regan Winter, Associate Editor, Disney-Hyperion
• Anqi Xu, Agent Assistant, Writers House
• Sarah Yamashita, Editorial Assistant, Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster