Johanna Castillo is returning to her roots, leaving her editorial job for a post as a literary agent. The v-p and executive editor of Atria will return to the deal-maker's life on June 6, joining Writers House as a senior literary agent.
"After working closely with a wonderful roster of authors and colleagues for nearly 15 years, I wanted to go back to being a literary agent and be able to find new talent and nurture writers' literary careers long term," Castillo said in a statement. She added: "I have always said that if I ever decided to get back to being an agent, my dream would be to do so at Writers House. Their culture of giving detailed guidance and care to their authors is something I have always deeply admired."
Castillo cut her teeth as an agent at the Sandford Greenburger Literary Agency in the early 2000s before joining Simon & Schuster's Atria group in 2005. She climbed the ranks at the imprint publishing authors such as Isabel Allende, Rachael Ray, and Theresa Caputo.
Amy Berkower, chair of Writers House, said in a statement: "We're thrilled that Johanna has chosen to work with us. We value her extraordinary editorial and entrepreneurial skills, and we welcome the depth her experience with European and Latin American authors will bring to our list."
