Meet Union Square & Co.
Meet Union Square
Emily Thomas Meehan
SVP, Publisher
Emily joined Union Square in 2021. She is the Senior Vice President and Publisher of Union Square & Co. and leads the strategies across all imprints including Union Square & Co., Union Square Kids, Union Square Gift, Boxer Books, Knock Knock and Em & Friends. Prior to joining the company, she was vice president and publisher at Disney Book Group, where she led creative and global commercial strategy for its trade publishing imprints, Hyperion and National Geographic, as well as branded trade title strategy for brands such as ESPN, Marvel, and Lucas. She acquired for and oversaw a broad publishing program that included Mo Willems, Rick Riordan, Dhonielle Clayton, Alexandra Bracken, Holly Black, and Dan Buettner. She also pioneered the book publishing division’s book-to-screen development engine. Ms. Meehan began her career at Simon & Schuster as an editorial assistant, where she realized her childhood dream of reading books for a living. There she discovered and launched the careers of many bestselling authors, including Jenny Han, Jennifer E. Smith, and Melissa de la Cruz.
Elke Villa
Vice President, Associate Publisher, Marketing & Publicity
Elke Villa joined Union Square & Co. in 2021, where she oversees the go-to-market strategies for the children, adult and gift publication programs. Prior to joining Union Square & Co., she was at Disney Publishing for a decade where she directed the marketing campaigns for New York Times best-selling authors such as Rick Riordan, Mo Willems, and Alexandra Bracken and publishing programs tied Disney, Marvel and Lucasfilm franchises, Elke has spent her career in publishing, including marketing and publicity roles at Simon & Schuster, John Wiley & Sons, Barnes & Noble.com and Random House.
David Bennett
Publisher, Boxer Books
David’s career spans five decades working with many of the world’s leading illustrators, from Helen Oxenbury to Britta Teckentrup. He co-created Where’s Wally with Martin Handford and is the publisher of Boxer Books, an imprint of Union Square & Co. He has sold titles to just about every major children’s publisher in the US and written and illustrated numerous children’s books under a pseudonym. David loves to discover unique new picture book talent and looks for wonderful drawing and quirky, offbeat, entertaining stories with humor and a message. He co-produces Lily and Bear stage shows, has sung with the St Albans Chamber Opera, won the City of London swimming marathon, backpacked through Kenya, climbed Mont Blanc, been attacked by monkeys, and took up playing cello during lockdown. David is a parent of three, a grandparent of twins and loves to spend time by the sea with family and friends.
Amanda Englander
Editorial Director, Union Square & Co.
Amanda oversees the adult trade publishing team. Prior to joining Union Square & Co. in 2021, she was executive editor at Clarkson Potter, Penguin Random House’s dedicated lifestyle imprint. She has a keen eye for spotting breakout bestsellers and award winners, such as Tieghan Gerard of the blog Half Baked Harvest, who has more than 2 million books in print; viral online brand BuzzFeed Tasty; Netflix phenomenon The Home Edit; actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson; sensational Instagram illustrator Mari Andrew; and the New York Times collection of Bill Cunningham’s photography. Amanda began her career at Hachette Book Group’s Grand Central Publishing, where she published both prescriptive and narrative nonfiction, including Matt Logelin’s Two Kisses for Maddy, which Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, released as the film Fatherhood starring Kevin Hart.
Mika Kasuga
Editorial Director, Fiction & Classics, Union Square & Co.
Mika joined Union Square & Co. in 2022. Previously she was at Penguin Random House where, as editorial manager of the Modern Library imprint, she curated the Modern Library Torchbearers series and reissued midcentury science fiction writer John Wyndham. She was simultaneously senior publishing manager of the One World and Roc Lit 101 imprints, where she worked with Nikole Hannah-Jones, Heather McGhee, and Ibram X. Kendi. Prior to that she was an associate editor at Random House, where she worked with authors such as Jim Mattis, Salman Rushdie, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Tracey Keevan
VP, Editorial Director, Union Square Kids
Tracey oversees the editorial team at Union Square Kids. Prior to joining Union Square & Co., Tracey was an executive editor at Disney-Hyperion / Disney Publishing Worldwide, where she worked for a decade with numerous bestselling, award-winning authors and illustrators. Tracey was formerly executive editor of Nick Jr. Magazine, part of the Nickelodeon Magazine Group, where she worked for nearly a decade, as well as having held positions at Workman Publishing and the New York Daily News. She is an Emmy Award–nominated writer whose children’s fiction has been featured on Nickelodeon TV as well as in books and magazines. Tracey began her career in nonprofit environmental education and has a lifelong interest in nature, climate, and sustainability. She is acquiring select titles with strong commercial and high-interest literary appeal, from picture books through middle grade novels. Unexpected voices, unusual stories, and surprising reading experiences are top on her list.
Camaren Subhiyah
Editorial Director, Union Square Gift & Specialty, Knock Knock, and Em & Friends
Camaren oversees the editorial teams at Union Square Gift & Specialty, Knock Knock, and Em & Friends imprints. Prior to joining Union Square & Co., Camaren was a senior editor at Chronicle Books, where she acquired book and gift products and developed New York Times bestselling and James Beard award—winning programs with authors, chefs, celebrities, artists, and brands. Camaren was also an editor at Abrams Books, where she specialized in the Food, Lifestyle, and Gift categories. Camaren began her publishing career at Penguin Random House, where she developed, wrote, and acquired bestselling books and gift products for the Potter Style and Clarkson Potter imprints.
Erica Gelbard
Executive Director of Publicity
Erica Gelbard is the Executive Director of Publicity at Union Square & Co. Prior to joining UNSQ she held roles in publicity departments at Chronicle Books, Clarkson Potter, and Grand Central Publishing. She has worked on books in a variety of categories, focusing on Cookbooks, Lifestyle, and Pop Culture, and has worked on publicity campaigns for everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Snoop Dogg to Alison Roman and Michael Symon and with brands such as Milk Bar and The Home Edit. She’s a passionate baker, a dedicated soccer mom, and is always on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
Allyson Gavaletz
Marketing Director
Allyson Gavaletz is the Marketing Director at Union Square & Co. Prior to joining UNSQ she’s held roles in national events and retail marketing at Barnes & Noble. She has worked on campaigns across all genres including the Heartstopper series, Impossible Creatures, James, Iron Flame, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus and Let’s Eat. You can also find her on past episodes of the Poured Over podcast from Barnes & Noble.
Ardyce Alspach
Senior Editor
Ardyce joined Union Square in 2015. She has held positions in a variety of disciplines throughout her career (though book editing is her favorite). Prior to joining Union Square & Co., Ardyce was an instructor at Clemson University, a graphic designer, a copyeditor, and a publicist. Ardyce is actively acquiring young adult and adult fiction. She’s worked with many talented authors such as Adam Cesare, Lora Senf, Hamish Steele, and Philip Fracassi. Her broad interests include fantasy, sci-fi, and horror.
Barbara Berger
Executive Editor
Barbara joined Union Square & Co. in 2005, and has focused on a wide range of topics. Before joining Union Square & Co., she held editorial positions at DK Publishing, Rizzoli, and Macmillan; and prior to that, worked in the fine art world at several galleries in New York. She has acquired and edited books by notable authors, photographers, and artists including Tony Bennett, Ray Davies, Joel Meyerowitz, Lynn Davis, Martin W. Sandler, Victoria Selman, Andrew Seidel, Harvey Kubernik, Alan Axelrod, and Michael Wolraich; and she has collaborated with organizations such as the American Museum of Natural History, the Associated Press, the George Eastman Museum, the New York Times, the Schomburg Center, AARP, WWD, and Sony Pictures. Her bestselling titles include Obama: The Historic Presidency of Barack Obama by Mark Greenberg and David Tait; Out of the Depths by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Israel Meir Lau; and Infinite Quest by John Edward.
Suzy Capozzi
Executive Editor
Suzy has worked at Union Square Kids since 2018. She has been a children’s book editor for more than twenty years, having previously held editorial positions at Random House and Simon & Schuster. Suzy’s portfolio includes everything from picture books to beginning readers and chapter books to middle grade and young adult novels. She has worked with numerous talented creators, including Dusti Bowling, Cozbi Cabrera, Victoria Chang, Leah Henderson, Patricia McKissack, Christian Robinson, and Renée Watson. Suzy is actively acquiring picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult titles. In the middle grade space, she has a keen interest in magical realism, unexpected historical fiction, and contemporary character-driven novels. For the young adult market, Suzy is drawn to unreliable narrators, speculative/ alternative history, sci-fi, and any genre-bending work.
Stefanie Chin
Editor
Stefanie has been with Union Square Kids since 2021. She graduated from Hamilton College and kickstarted her publishing career at literary agencies and as a bookseller at her childhood independent bookstore, [words] in New Jersey. Before joining Union Square & Co., she handled digital marketing and publicity for NorthSouth Books and has worked for years as a freelance copyeditor. She has collaborated with many talented storytellers, including Kim DeRose, Riley Redgate, Freddie Kölsch, Kate Chenli, Sujin Witherspoon, and Katie Gilbert. Stefanie is actively looking for character-driven young adult fiction that, above all, feels unexpected and vibrant. Her weaknesses are clever heroines, lyrical prose, and the monstrous.
Michael Coulter
Editor
Michael joined Union Square Kids in 2023. Prior to joining Union Square & Co., Michael was an editor at Scholastic Book Clubs, where he developed books and activity products including spy kits and graded reader boxed sets. Michael is also an experienced proofreader. As the editor heading up Children’s Classics for Union Square Kids, Michael is interested in acquiring classics-adjacent stories like picture book retellings of classics, middle grade fantasy with Black/diverse leads, and contemporary interpretations of mythology and folklore. He’s looking for texts that are accessible, open-hearted, and exciting to get children interested in reading.
Caitlin Cromley-Linn
Associate Editor, Gift & Specialty
Caitlin joined Union Square & Co. in 2023. Currently, she works on gift and specialty titles that bring joy, spark curiosity, and connect people to each other. Caitlin has held roles across many corners of the book world, from trade publishing at HarperCollins, to educational publishing at Wiley and McGraw Hill, supporting agents at Folio Literary Management, and even serving as a children’s librarian. These experiences have deepened her love for books as vessels for connection across the spectrum of the human experience. In the gift space, Caitlin is drawn to products that feel both beautiful and intentional, whether playful or pop culture-infused or elegant and literary. She especially loves interactive formats that invite people to engage, reflect, or share, from games and guided journals to design-driven collaborations.
Chris Duffy
Executive Editor, Union Square Kids
Chris joined Union Square Kids in 2021. He has written and edited comics and graphic novels for thirty years, taking time out for meals and whistling breaks. For Nickelodeon Magazine’s award-winning comics section, Chris gathered the world’s best cartoonists into one place to create original comics for kids. In addition to editing many comics anthologies for First Second, including the Eisner Award–nominated Fairy Tale Comics, Chris worked directly with SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg to launch and produce the popular comic book series starring the yellow guy. Prior to joining Union Square & Co., Chris’s career included editorial positions at Workman Publishing, Nickelodeon Magazine, and DC Comics, among others. He is looking for highly illustrated/graphic novels for all ages, with a focus on middle grade and young adult fantasy, humor, adventure, and inventive nonfiction. Chris is also acquiring and developing kids’ puzzle, humor, and novelty titles.
Nicole Fisher
Senior Editor
Nicole joined Union Square & Co. in 2025 and has more than a decade of experience in illustrated nonfiction. Previously she served as Deputy Director at Hearst Books, where she launched and led the Hearst Home and Hearst Home Kids imprints in partnership with Penguin Random House Publishing Services. In that role, Nicole worked closely with editors of storied media brands to create bestselling titles including Food Network Magazine The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook; Good Housekeeping Home Skills; Delish Ultimate Cocktails;and Veranda At Home in the South. She also partnered with outside media companies on best-in-class branded titles such as Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas. In a way, this role is a homecoming for Nicole, as she began her career at Sterling Publishing, acquiring and editing lifestyle books for our Hearst Books licensed imprint.
Eric Geron
Editor
Eric joined Union Square Kids as a senior editor in 2025. Prior to that, he held editorial positions at Scholastic, Insight Editions, Blizzard Entertainment, and Disney Publishing Worldwide. At Disney, he worked directly with Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch to acquire and edit Gravity Falls: Journal 3, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller. In addition to editing titles, Eric has authored a wide range of books himself, including Hocus Pocus: The Spell Book, also a #1 New York Times bestseller. Eric will be developing licensed kids’ programs, including the Mo Willems Workshop program.
Francis Heaney
Executive Editor
Francis has been writing puzzles professionally since 1993, and editing them since not long after that. They joined Puzzlewright Press, Union Square & Co.’s pen-and-paper puzzle imprint, in 2005. Their puzzles have appeared in Games magazine (where they also did a stint as editor-at-large), the New York Times, Wired, Entertainment Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, Time Out, Al Jazeera, and more, as well as in many books. Francis has have also worked as an ancillary writer at Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and work currently as a contributing writer and editor for the American Values Club Crossword. They organized the charity puzzle project Puzzles for Progress in 2017 and were a contributing editor to the charity puzzle projects Queer Qrosswords and Queer Qrosswords 2 in 2018 and 2019.
Claire Wachtel
Editor-at-Large
Claire joined Union Square & Co. in 2022. She was previously a senior vice president and executive editor at HarperCollins for twenty-two years. During her time there, she acquired and edited several major New York Times bestsellers, including the nonfiction titles Sapiens, Freakonomics, all of Cokie Roberts’s historical books, former president George W. Bush’s A Charge to Keep, and Mitch Zuckoff’s Lost in Shangri-La, which was optioned for film by 3000 Pictures. On the fiction side, she has published such authors as Dennis Lehane (Mystic River and Shutter Island), S. J. Watson (Before I Go to Sleep), Kim McCreight (Reconstructing Amelia and Where They Found Her), and Jennifer Haigh (Mrs. Kimble and The Condition).