Krista Vitola Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

“I gravitate toward picture books and chapter books that make me laugh and place a huge smile on my face. These books explore the everyday with a comedic and outlandish sensibility while teaching its reader in the process. My young adult taste leans toward novels that have a ton of heart and feature sweeping romances all while explore coming of age experiences in a unique setting or format, like Sia Martinez and the Moonlight Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon and anything by Laurie Halse Anderson.

If I could live solely in the middle-grade bubble, I would, and you will find that most of my list focuses on this age range. I adore middle grade with a ton of heart, lyrical writing, and characters that reveal the inner kid in all of us. Some of my favorite authors are Lauren Wolk, Laurel Snyder, Soman Chainani, Sharon Draper, Hena Khan, and Kate DiCamillo. I also do non-fiction middle grade that focuses on my two passions outside of editing: running and animals.

On weeknights, I’m obsessed with beating my time on the mini New York Times cross- word puzzle, watching ruthless business-focused dramas such as Succession and Billions, and dancing to country music while performing any necessary household chore. When I’m not reading, I’m running outdoors with my son, eating whatever delicious treats are available, and drinking red wine (most times in that order, sometimes all at once). A few of the authors I am lucky to work with are Anne Bustard, Donna Gephart, Shanna Miles, Kelly Yang, and Stuart Gibbs.”