From nearly 200 nominations, Publishers Weekly announced that it has longlisted 41 individuals for its 2022 Star Watch awards. During an annual event—which will be held in-person on November 15 at the Monarch Rooftop in New York City—PW will recognize and celebrate the contributions of these innovators in the book publishing industry.
Five award finalists will be announced October 26, and one “Superstar” award winner will be named at the award reception. A profile of all honorees will be published in the October 31 issue of PW magazine.
“This group expresses a lot of entrepreneurial spirit,” said Jim Milliot, editorial director of Publishers Weekly and an awards juror. “The honorees this year definitely transcend the nine-to-five publishing world. They are involved in many aspects of the literary landscape.”
The 2022 honorees include representatives from HarperCollins, Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, as well as independent houses, comics publishers, literary agents, booksellers and others who influence how book titles reach local and global audiences.
The complete list of this year’s PW Star Watch Honorees are as follow:
- Elizabeth Agyemang, Associate Editor, Clarion Books
- Shivani Annirood, Publicist, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Alex Antone, Editorial Director, Skybound Entertainment
- Shira Atakpu, Art Director, Llewellyn Worldwide
- Christine Bollow, Loyalty Bookstores Programs & Marketing Manager, Loyalty Books
- Ruoxi Chen, Editor, Tordotcom Publishing
- Mary Claire Cruz, Associate Art Director, Penguin Random House
- Karin DeHaven, Academic Publicist, InterVarsity Press
- Mensah Demary, Editor-in-Chief, Soft Skull
- Fanta Diallo, Associate Publicist, Little, Brown and Company
- Jason Farrell, Vice President Operations, University of Toronto Press
- Amy Fitzgerald, Editorial Director, Lerner Publishing Group
- Emily Forney, Literary Agent, BookEnds Literary Agency
- Maudee Genao, Associate Marketing Manager, Atria Books
- Tiffany Gonzalez, Marketing Manager, Astra House
- Kadeen Griffiths, Metadata Manager, Digital & Online Sales, Penguin Random House
- Pam Harcourt, Publishing and Brand Manager, Trafalgar Square Books
- Jarrod Harrison, Associate Editor, Broadleaf Books
- Sara Haskell, Director of Publishing Sales and Marketing, Legendary
- Alex Hill, Director, Corporate Communications, Penguin Random House
- Hannah Hill, Editor, Delacorte Press
- Jackson Howard, Editor, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Grace Kendall, Senior Editor, Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers
- Ruby Rose Lee, Editor, Henry Holt & Company
- Kristina Sutton Lennon, Agent/Scout, Focused Artists
- Gary Lovely, Store Manager, Prologue Bookshop
- Erin Madison, Marketing Manager, Penguin Random House
- Ashley Mireles, Director of Sales and Marketing, Familius
- Madison Nankervis, Senior Marketing and Publicity Associate, Sourcebooks
- Jenna Nelson, Senior Marketing Specialist, 1517 Media
- Daniel O'Brien, Director of Membership, American Booksellers Association
- Stephanie Pando, Marketing & Publicity Associate, Candlewick Press
- Bria Ragin, Editor, Joy Revolution Books
- Claire Sielaff, Senior Acquisitions Editor, Ulysses Press
- Arune Singh, Director of Brand, Editorial, Skybound Entertainment
- Kendall Storey, Editor-in-Chief, Catapult
- Michael Tan, Associate Acquisitions Editor, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- Maya Tatsukawa, Senior Designer, Candlewick Press
- Chloe Texier-Rose, Director of Publicity, Zando
- Jennifer Ung, Executive Editor, Quill Tree Books
- Charlie Upchurch, Audio Book Editor, Andrews McMeel Publishing
The PW Star Watch celebration is open to the public. To attend the 2022 reception, purchase your ticket online here.