Catherine Laudone Editor Paula Wiseman Books

Catherine first joined Simon & Schuster in 2013. Catherine acquires picture books and middle grade with a special focus on finding stories featuring underrepresented voices. She is especially passionate about stories featuring neurodiverse and disabled characters. For picture books, she is drawn to classic-feeling, character-driven stories with a strong hook. She loves clever twist endings, fresh spins on timeless themes, and characters that make you laugh or cry. For nonfiction picture books, she is looking for biographies featuring positive role models and untold real-life legends, and narrative nonfiction that makes history and facts accessible to young readers. For middle grade, Catherine is particularly drawn to coming of age stories with lots of heart, strong friendships, and sibling and intergenerational relationships. She is also open to some historical, light fantasy, or magical realism middle grade, and novels written in both prose and verse formats. Follow her on Twitter: @CatherineLaud.