Crown

Gillian Blake is Executive Vice President, Publisher, and Editor in Chief of Crown and Crown Currency. Previously she was Editor in Chief at Henry Holt. She acquires and edits select titles with a focus on narrative nonfiction, history, memoir, science, current events, popular culture, and biography. She has edited many prizewinning and bestselling authors, including President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Matthew McConaughey, Rachel Maddow, Ina Garten, Elizabeth Kolbert, Rick Atkinson, Tina Brown, Naomi Watts, Susan Cain, Senator Bernie Sanders, Dame Jacinda Ardern, Gretchen Rubin, Warren Zanes, Andy Cohen, Stephen Johnson, Ethan Kross, Ian McGuire, A. J. Jacobs, Ai Weiwei,  Jaron Lanier, Brandi Carlile, Lucinda Williams, Elton John, Rob Lowe, Adrian Nicole Leblanc, Anthony Doerr, William Boyd, and Harold Bloom. 

Annsley Rosner is Senior Vice President and Deputy Publisher of Crown and Crown Currency. As Deputy Publisher, she works on all aspects of the Crown and Crown Currency programs, overseeing frontlist and backlist strategy and operations, to launch books, position them in the marketplace, and set them up for long-term success. She works closely with cross-functional teams in editorial, marketing, publicity, sales, consumer insights, and inventory to create impactful, innovative campaigns. Annsley has been at Penguin Random House for more than twenty-three years—with prior positions including senior publicity roles at Crown, Dutton, and Vintage Books—and has worked with a wide range of bestselling authors including former President George W. Bush, former President Barack Obama, Erik Larson, Matthew Desmond, former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Ben Macintyre, Gillian Flynn, Sally Rooney, Rebecca Skloot, Liane Moriarty, and Chris Whitaker, among many others.

Amanda Cook is Vice President and Editorial Director at Crown. She publishes idea-driven and narrative nonfiction across a number of subject areas, including current affairs, science, history, psychology, politics, and economics, and has worked with a wide range of writers and scholars, including Matthew Desmond, Erik Larson, Rebecca Skloot, Sheri Fink, Brian Goldstone, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Timothy Snyder. Her recent books include Matthew Desmond’s #1 New York Times bestseller, Poverty, By America, and Evicted, which won the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction and was named one of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century; Erik Larson’s The Demon of Unrest, The Splendid and the Vile, and Dead Wake, all #1 New York Times bestsellers; Cathy O’Neil’s Weapons of Math Destruction, longlisted for the National Book Award; Cornell philosopher Kate Manne’s Unshrinking, a finalist for the National Book Award; and Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s international bestseller How Democracies Die.

Kevin Doughten, Vice President and Editorial Director, Crown, edits a broad range of narrative nonfiction books on history, politics, biography, memoir, and culture. Throughout his career, he has worked with many bestselling authors, including scholars Professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (Begin Again) and Adam Grant (Give and Take); Pulitzer Prize–winning historians Manning Marable (Malcolm X) and Kai Bird (The Outlier); award-winning journalists David Sanger (The Perfect Weapon, New Cold Wars), Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes (#1 New York Times bestseller Shattered), Johann Hari (Stolen Focus), Sam Anderson (Boom Town), and David Philipps (Alpha); true-spy-story master Ben Macintyre (The Spy and the Traitor); artists from John Cleese to Phil Collins to Robbie Robertson; and lawyer and criminal justice reformer Brittany K. Barnett, whose A Knock at Midnight was named Amazon’s 2020 Best Book of the Year. Kevin started his publishing career at Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2004 and was previously an editor at Viking, where he was the acquiring editor of The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk.

Matt Inman, Vice President and Editorial Director, Entertainment and Special Projects, loves distinctive voices, immersive journeys, and books that entertain as they teach. He edits a blend of narrative and illustrated nonfiction, including memoir, biography, cultural history, humor, pop culture, and pop reference, as well as select art/photography, how-to, and business books. Throughout his career, Matt has acquired and edited New York Times bestsellers by Matthew McConaughey, Dolly Parton, The Moth, Rhett & Link, Jimmy Chin, MrBallen, Conor Knighton, Gracie Gold, Andrew Shaffer, and The Onion. His authors also include Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, Roy Wood Jr., Andrew Rannells, Eric Idle, Shirley MacLaine, Mike Matheny, John August and Craig Mazin, The Explorers Club, and Olivia de Havilland, as well as the creative teams of The Crown, Black Mirror, Parks and Recreation, and Shark Tank.

Paul Whitlatch, Vice President and Editorial Director, joined Crown in 2019 and became the Editorial Director of Crown Currency in 2024. He oversees the Crown Currency list, which encompasses books about business, technology, and personal success, and also acquires select titles for the Crown list, mainly in the areas of current events and history. Paul has edited and published successful books across a wide variety of subjects but is particularly drawn to reported narratives with a strong point of view, argument-driven books that help explain our world, and books that sharpen your thinking and productivity. Recently highlights include The Coming Wave by artificial intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman, which has sold more than a quarter-million copies; the #1 New York Times bestseller The Technological Republic by Palantir CEO Alex Karp; the investigative crypto book Number Go Up by journalist Zeke Faux; and the finance memoir The Trading Game by YouTube economist Gary Stevenson. Enduring bestsellers acquired by Paul include Code Girls by Liza Mundy and Billion Dollar Whale by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope. His pipeline includes books by imprisoned journalist Evan Gershkovich, on Russia; Wall Street Journal columnist Christopher Mims, on mastering AI at work; legal podcaster Sarah Isgur, on the Supreme Court; Substack writer Adam Mastroianni, on science and human progress; venture capitalist Bill Gurley, on how to find a career you love; entrepreneur Marc Lore, on his theory of exponential risk; economist Kyla Scanlon, on Gen Z; the Earn Your Leisure podcasting duo, on how to “get rich with relationships”; Bloomberg writer Lucas Shaw, on the history of Netflix; London Business School professor Alex Edmans, on how to outsmart the markets; happiness expert Robin Sharma, on how to be defiantly human in the age of AI; and Atlantic staff writer Kaitlyn Tiffany, on a forgotten story of trailblazing women in the 1960s.

Madhulika Sikka is Vice President and Executive Editor at Crown. She joined Crown in 2020 after an award-winning career in journalism across all platforms, holding leadership positions at major news outlets including ABC News, NPR, and the Washington Post. She is interested in a broad range of memoir, reported narrative nonfiction, and even some humor. Her list includes the New York Times bestseller and NAACP Image Award winner Scenes from My Life by the late actor Michael K. Williams, New York Times bestseller Grown Woman Talk by Dr. Sharon Malone, PEN/Galbraith finalist Zara Chowdhary, author of The Lucky Ones: A Memoir. Her forthcoming titles include Letter from Japan by Marie Kondo and Sea Change: America’s New Great Game in the Arctic Circle by FT columnist Rana Faroohar.  She’s interested in elevating stories that open the aperture of how we look at the world and how we engage with one another. She is herself a Crown author of A Breast Cancer Alphabet (2014), so she can empathize with all her authors about the challenge of bringing a book into the world.

Lydia Yadi, Executive Editor, joined Crown in 2025 after holding positions at Portfolio and PRH UK. She acquires for the Crown and Crown Currency lists, focusing on health, psychology, big ideas, business, self-help, and autobiography. She is interested in books that help us understand ourselves and the world around us and is drawn to argument-driven books, practical guides that solve the reader’s problem, and inspiring stories of success. Over the last decade, she has worked with world-class academics, award-winning journalists, pioneering doctors, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and psychologists including Simon Sinek, Marie Forleo, Cal Newport, Anastasia Soare, Dr. Louise Newson, and Steven Bartlett. Previous highlights include the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers Slow Productivity by Cal Newport, The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett, and Wild Courage by Jenny Wood. Her upcoming Crown authors include psychologist Lindsay C. Gibson, entrepreneur George Mack, dentist Dr. Staci Whitman, and social philosopher Roman Krznaric.

Aubrey Martinson is an Editor at Crown and aims to publish narrative nonfiction that sparks change and conversation, with a focus on social justice, investigative journalism, science, unknown history, memoir, and pop culture. She has edited award-winning and bestselling authors including Bridget Read, Sarah Hartshorne, Edgar Gomez, Emily Galvin Almanza, Alexa Hagerty, Frances Mayes, Leigh Cowart, Geraldine DeRuiter, Megan Kimble, Guenther Steiner, Matt Whyman, Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers, and Maikel Kuijpers. In her time at Crown, she has also worked with acclaimed authors such as David Wallace-Wells, Brandi Carlile, Timothy Snyder, Michiko Kakutani, Seth Rogen, Eric Idle, and Michael K. Williams.

Katie Berry, Associate Editor, is interested in acquiring history, cultural criticism, biography, and narrative nonfiction, especially as they intersect with feminism, art, or social issues. Her authors include Sophia Smith Galer, Katherine Rowland, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Frederick Wherry, Eli Cook, and Maureen Johnson. Before joining the team as an editorial assistant in 2020, she was a Crown intern and then a bookseller. She has since helped develop and publish books by Matthew Desmond, Jonathan Kennedy, Gary Krist, Erik Larson, Kate Manne, Gary Stevenson, and Volodymyr Zelensky, among others.

Amy Li, Associate Editor at Crown and Crown Currency, joined the team in 2021 from McGraw-Hill Business, where she edited Erica Keswin’s Wall Street Journal bestsellers Bring Your Human to Work and Rituals Roadmap. At Crown, she’s had the immense pleasure of working with New York Times bestselling authors including Michelle Obama, Rachel Maddow, Ben Macintyre, Johann Hari, Tina Brown, and the hosts of the Earn Your Leisure podcast, among others. She is passionate about publishing diverse voices and is drawn to books that make us think about the way we live in a different way, whether it’s in how we view our society or how we navigate our lives in and out of the workplace. She is interested in narrative-driven works that have something to say about the world in the areas of current affairs, cultural criticism, social justice (especially Asian American issues), social science, investigative journalism, memoir, history, and politics, as well as big idea books by thought leaders in business and personal success titles that shares insightful and practical wisdom on how to improve our day-to-day at work and beyond. Her authors include Kaila Yu, Liz Tran, Fran Hauser, and Alia Dastagir.

Reva Lalwani is an Editorial Assistant at Crown and Ten Speed Press.

Coalter Palmer, an Editorial Assistant at Crown and Crown Currency, joined the team in April 2025. He assists Crown Currency Editorial Director Paul Whitlatch and Crown/Crown Currency Executive Editor Lydia Yadi on titles across a wide range of nonfiction genres, including technology, politics, business, health, memoir, and more. Book projects he has assisted on include upcoming titles by Wall Street Journal technology columnist Christopher Mims, legal podcaster Sarah Isgur, and The Atlantic writer Kaitlyn Tiffany. Coming to PRH from a journalism background, he is especially passionate about investigative books that drive national conversations and policy change.

Jess Scott joined Crown in September 2024 as an Editorial Assistant. She primarily focuses on nonfiction titles and has worked closely with a wide range of authors including Rick Atkinson, Jacinda Ardern, Rachel Maddow, Michael Wolff, Robin Givhan, Naomi Watts, Ethan Kross, Shawn Achor, and Ina Garten. Prior to Crown, she assisted John Palfrey, president of the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago. Jess is originally from Norfolk, Virginia, graduated from Princeton University, and now lives in Manhattan.

Michelle Giuseffi, Associate Director, Publishing, oversees various operational processes for frontlist and backlist titles on the Crown and Crown Currency lists. Michelle also works closely with our sales team and external retail partners on B2B strategy for both imprints. In collaboration with the inventory team, Michelle helps to make sure Crown and Crown Currency books remain in stock and ready for readers to enjoy. Previously, she worked in marketing at the Penguin Publishing Group.

Christopher Brand is Vice President and Creative Director at Crown. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2007 and has worked at Penguin Random House since 2008. His design work has been recognized by the Art Directors Club, AIGA, Type Directors Club, AI-AP, PRINT magazine, and the New York Times.

Julie Cepler is Vice President and Director of Marketing of Crown and Special Projects, where she leads strategy to drive consumer awareness, reader engagement, and sales across Crown’s roster of titles. During her  twenty years at Penguin Random House, she has worked across genres, shaping campaigns and building author brands. She has had the honor of championing bestselling works by authors including former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush, Timothy Snyder, Matthew McConaughey, Susan Cain, Erik Larson, Rick Atkinson, Matthew Desmond, Javier Zamora, Liane Moriarty, Chris Whitaker, Gillian Flynn, Andy Weir, Blake Crouch, and Sally Rooney.

Dyana Messina is Vice President and Director of Publicity for Crown. Joining Crown after completing her master’s in publishing, she has spent twenty years in various senior roles in the publicity department, where she has worked on a broad range of both fiction and nonfiction titles, developing and executing high-profile media and event strategies. She has worked with numerous award-winning and bestselling authors including former President Barack Obama, former President George W. Bush, Matthew McConaughey, Bruce Springsteen, Rachel Maddow, Timothy Snyder, Tom Reiss, Ben Macintyre, David Wallace-Wells, Terry McMillan, Sally Rooney, Gillian Flynn, Liane Moriarty, and Chris Whitaker.

Rachel Berkowitz is Vice President and Director of Subsidiary Rights at the Crown Publishing Group, where she oversees domestic and foreign rights across all imprints. Rachel brings expertise in licensing across categories such as business, science, history, memoir, narrative nonfiction, self-help, cookery, gift, and both commercial and literary fiction. Since joining Crown in 2009, she has negotiated rights deals for a wide range of bestselling and influential authors, including Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, George W. Bush, Deepak Chopra, Ai Weiwei, Greg McKeown, Martha Stewart, Matty Matheson, Peter Attia, Gillian Flynn, Andy Weir, and the forthcoming Empyrean Graphic series by Rebecca Yarros. She and the rights team also represent CPG at major international book fairs. Prior to joining Crown, she was a literary book and film scout for more than a decade.