Shannon Criss is a Senior Editor at Crown. Before joining the Crown Publishing Group, she held editorial roles at Harlequin, Diversion Books, and Henry Holt, working with acclaimed and New York Times bestselling authors including Katherine Howe and Jodi Ellen Malpas, as well as award-winning author Donna Hill. Her interests span historical, contemporary, and slightly speculative book-club and upmarket fiction, and she is particularly drawn to mysteries and psychological thrillers with a moody, atmospheric edge. A proud HBCU graduate, Shannon supports novels that explore the complexities of identity, particularly those centered on outsiders, and gravitates toward stories that spark meaningful, sometimes challenging, but ultimately life-affirming, conversations. A forthcoming title on her list, American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams, is a powerful example of this intersection.