Talia Benamy, Author at Penguin Books

Ellice Lee, Senior Art Director

Talia Benamy — Wed, 17 May 2023 17:15:16 +0000

Ellice Lee, senior art director of Philomel, joined the team in 2017. She holds a BA in sociology from UCLA and a BFA from Art Center College of Design. Ellice has worked with award-winning talent including Alexandra Boiger, Rafael López, Loren Long, LeUyen Pham, Christian Robinson, Kadir Nelson, Ed Young, and Floyd Cooper. Titles she has worked on have appeared on the New York Times bestseller lists (most recently, Just Ask! by Sonia Sotomayor and Rafael López and She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger), been featured in New York Magazine and TIME, and have won Caldecott Honors and Coretta Scott King Awards, as well as been a finalist for the National Book Award. Ellice loves working with talent who have a compelling story to share—from the political to the social to the inane.

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Monique Sterling, Senior Designer

Talia Benamy — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 14:10:26 +0000

Monique Sterling, senior designer at Philomel Books, joined the team in 2019. She holds a BFA in graphic design from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a minor in communication design. Before making the pivot to children’s publishing, she worked as a freelancer and full-time designer in several industries, including print, online education, advertising, marketing/promo, and data visualization. Now, as a book designer, she works on picture books and nonfiction titles that celebrate diverse characters. Outside of book design, she enjoys bringing these characters to life as a motion graphic designer, handlettering fun quotes, and discovering vibrant artwork on the streets of New York.

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Talia Benamy, Editor

Talia Benamy — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 19:14:18 +0000

Talia Benamy, editor at Philomel Books, joined Penguin Random House as an editorial assistant in 2013. She graduated with a BA in English from Cornell University. Talia is the editor of Cramm This Book: So You Know WTF Is Going On in the World Today by Olivia Seltzer, My Love for You Is Always by Gillian Sze and Michelle Lee, You Can Be ABCs by Robert Samuel White II, Robert Samuel White III, and Robert Paul Jr., The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum, and the Airi Sano, Prankmaster General series by Zoe Tokushige, and she co-edits the She Persisted chapter book series with Jill Santopolo. She is constantly on the lookout for books that will help readers understand the world around them and their ability to impact it, as well as books that embrace feminism, celebrate wordplay, and focus on Judaism, politics, or space. When she’s not editing books, Talia can be found engaging in political activism, winning bar trivia nights, eating all the pizza, and planning her next trip. Follow her on Twitter @taliabenamy.

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Jill Santopolo, Vice President & Publisher

Talia Benamy — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 18:30:00 +0000

Jill Santopolo is the vice president and publisher of Philomel. After seven years at HarperCollins, she joined Penguin Random House in 2009 and became associate publisher in 2018. She holds a BA in English literature from Columbia University and an MFA in writing for children from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Jill is best known for editing books that empower young readers, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, Just Ask! by Sonia Sotomayor and Rafael López, Girling Up by Mayim Bialik, and Superheroes Are Everywhere by Kamala Harris and Mechal Renee Roe. She also edited the National Book Award nominee A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff, the Amelia Bloomer winner The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi, the USA Today bestseller Peanut Butter & Cupcake! by Terry Border, and the LA Times bestseller Carnival Magic by Amy Ephron, as well as award-winning and bestselling books by Temple Grandin, Andrea Robertson, Jane Yolen, and many others. Jill loves publishing books that challenge readers to think more deeply about the world around them. When she’s not editing, Jill is a New York Times bestselling novelist herself. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @jillsantopolo.

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Kenneth Wright, President & Publisher

Talia Benamy — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 18:38:00 +0000

Kenneth Wright is the president and publisher of the Philomel Books and Viking Children’s Books imprints. After graduating with a BA in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder, he worked his way up the editorial ladder to become an editorial director at Scholastic in 2001. In 2006 he joined Writers House as a literary agent, where he represented many award-winning and bestselling creators, including the award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys, Steve Sheinkin, and Deborah Heiligman.

After six years as an agent, he returned to the editorial side of publishing as the VP and associate publisher of Viking Children’s Books. In 2018, he became the president and publisher of both Viking and Philomel. While running these groups, Ken also makes time to edit a few select authors, including Oliver Jeffers, Arvin Ahmadi, and Gayle Forman. When he’s not working on books, you can find him gardening, traveling, and reading back issues of The New Yorker. You can follow him on Instagram @kenwright212.

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Philomel Awards

Talia Benamy — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 06:16:46 +0000

Caldecott Medal Winner

2001: So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George, illustrated by David Small
1990: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China, translated and illustrated by Ed Young
1988: Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr

Caldecott Honor Book

1993: Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
1968: The Emperor and the Kite by Ed Young

Carnegie Medal Winner

2017: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Carnegie Medal Nominee

2020: The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
2020: Hello Now by Jenny Valentine
2020: Otto Tattercoat and the Forest of Lost Things by Matilda Woods
2016: Fire Color One by Jenny Valentine
2015: Bone Jack by Sara Crowe
2014: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
2012: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Newbery Honor Book

1983: Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush by Virginia Hamilton

National Book Award Winner

2010: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

National Book Award Nominee

2013: A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

National Jewish Book Award Nominee

2015: Audacity by Melanie Crowder

The New York Times Best-Illustrated Books of the Year

2016: The Cat from Hunger Mountain, written and illustrated by Ed Young
2012: The Hueys in: The New Sweater, written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
1993: The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida, illustrated by Joanna Yardley
1993: Gulliver’s Adventures in Lilliput by Jonathan Swift, retold by Ann Kay Beneduce, illustrated by Gennady Spirin
1988: Cats are Cats, compiled by Nancy Larrick, illustrated by Ed Young
1988: Swan Sky by Tejima
1987: Fox’s Dream by Tejima
1982: Anno’s Britain by Mitsumasa Anno

William C. Morris Award Winner

2023: The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum

William C. Morris Award Nominee

2012: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

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Philomel

Talia Benamy — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 06:11:58 +0000

Philomel was created in the early 1980s as part of World Publishing Books for Young People, by editor and publisher Ann Beneduce. The imprint was named after the nightingale, using a term that literally means “lover of song,” which implied that these books would be lyrical, beautiful in concept and form, and fine enough to be celebrated as gifts. The early lists included Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Ed Young’s Caldecott Honor–winning The Emperor and the Kite.

In 1985 Patricia Lee Gauch took over as editor-in-chief of Philomel. Under her leadership, Philomel published Caldecott winners Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and John Schoenherr, Lon Po Po by Ed Young, and So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George and David Small, as well as the iconic animal fantasy series Redwall by Brian Jacques and the classic picture books of Patricia Polacco.

Michael Green took the helm as publisher in 2003. Under his direction, Philomel continued its tradition of producing quality picture books for the youngest of readers while publishing more commercial fiction for middle graders and young adults. The Philomel list grew to include the #1 bestselling blockbuster The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers, Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers, Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider spy novels, Mike Lupica’s sports-centered novels, and John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice epic. This quest to reach reluctant readers added to Philomel’s initial mission and expanded the type of books published under the imprint’s name.

In 2018, Kenneth Wright became Philomel’s publisher and, working with Jill Santopolo as associate publisher, continued to expand the definition of a Philomel book, publishing books meant to enlighten, inspire, and empower young readers. Philomel’s list grew to include the #1 New York Times bestsellers She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, Just Ask! by Sonia Sotomayor and Rafael López, Superheroes Are Everywhere by Kamala Harris and Mechal Renee Roe, and Girling Up: How to be Strong, Smart and Spectacular by Mayim Bialik. These books and many others opened readers’ eyes to the world around them and the feelings inside them, and showed them how they could make a difference.

The Philomel team creates books that celebrate the potential in every reader, and its list of award-winners also includes, among others, New York Times bestselling historical fiction titles Between Shades of Gray, Salt to the Sea, and The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys, all recognized by the Carnegie committee, and Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine and A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff, both recognized by the National Book Award committee.

Whatever the genre, Philomel strives to foster a love of reading in children and young adults. We aim to publish books that offer insight and new perspectives, and that show children what they can accomplish. It is an appreciation of story, of language, of books that can be read over and over and yet lose none of their magic that drives Philomel to make distinguished, meaningful books year after year.

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