Rebecca Kuss (she/her) Executive Editor Aladdin

Rebecca Kuss (she/her) is an Executive Editor who joined the Aladdin imprint in 2024 in search of diverse, commercial middle grade and  YA fiction. She previously edited at HarperCollins and Disney Hyperion, where she had the privilege of working with ridiculously talented, best-selling, and award-winning authors including Rick Riordan, Ann Liang, Susan Lee, Daniel José Older, Kat Cho, Judy I. Lin, Leah Johnson, Stacey Lee, Graci Kim, Zoe Hana Mikuta, and Jade Adia just to name a few.  She’s also worked as a book-to-film scout for Netflix’s children’s division and has her master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied issues of representation in children’s literature. A lover of french fries, Claudia Kishi, and maximalist interior design, you can find her on IG @rebeccakuss. 

 

Rebecca is interested in stories that feel original and timeless and embody Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s ethos of providing “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” to young readers everywhere. With a focus on marginalized and underrepresented voices, she is interested in complex characters; aspirational and escapist themes and settings; over-the-top commercial hooks; and stories that make you ugly cry. A mega-fan of the golden age of the CW (Felicity, Dawson’s Creek, Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl), she lives for melodrama and sweeping, epic, emotionally intense YA, in any genre. In middle grade, she is looking for anything that has a hook worthy of a Disney Channel Original Movie, with an emphasis on the adventurous, the whimsical, and the deeply earnest. Across all age categories, she prefers stories that are filled with heart and lead with hope and joy above all else.