More than 100 people came out on November 15 to celebrate some of the best and brightest names in publishing at PW's annual Star Watch event, held this year at the Monarch Rooftop in New York City.

In an evening punctuated by food and fanfare, Tordotcom Publishing editor Rouxi Chen became the toast of the town when she took away the $2,500 Superstar prize and used her moment to call attention to the ongoing HarperCollins union strike.

In a short speech, the room erupted into applause as Chen dedicated her win to her family and her "colleagues at HarperCollins who are fighting for workers rights."

"This industry is sometimes not the easiest one to be in, but it wouldn't be possible without all of you," she said. "To my incredible authors, an editor isn't anything without the books. And I am so grateful that I get to work on editing your stuff."

Superstar finalists, Elizabeth Agyemang, associate editor at Clarion Books; Fanta Diallo, associate publicist at Little, Brown; Amy Fitzgerald, editorial director at Lerner/Carolrhoda; and Ashley Marie Mireles, director of sales and marketing at Familius, received a $500 cash prize.

Among this year's more than 40 Star Watch honorees included 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