Gabby Leporati
Publicist
Hachette Book Group
When Gabby Leporati graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2019, she knew her path led to publishing. A Virginia native with a deep love of reading inculcated by high school librarians, she says she once felt “greatly intimidated by the publishing industry.” But with a couple of internships under her belt, including at the Richmond-based Brandylane Publishers, she felt ready to “take the leap.”
That summer, she enrolled at the six-week Columbia Publishing Course. By September, she landed two part-time publicity internships. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Friday mornings, she worked at W.W. Norton, and on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Friday afternoons, she worked at Flatiron; on Fridays, she ate lunch on the train from one internship to the other.
Her dedication stood out: within a month of completing her internships, she landed her first full-time publishing job at Little, Brown in January of 2020 There, she steadily rose through the ranks, from publicity assistant to associate publicist, then publicist. In her nearly five years at the publisher, she has helped reimagine LB’s Awards Committee, participated in its Summer Intern Mentorship Program, and become the colead of the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group, through which she organized an industrywide queer networking event.
Carrie Bloxson, Leporati’s nominator and Hachette Book Group’s chief diversity officer and SVP of culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion, praised Leporati’s “leadership in promoting diversity and inclusivity, both within our organization and through her impactful campaigns.”
Leporati feels especially grateful to work with many queer Little, Brown authors, including Sabrina Imbler, Bunny Michael, and Jeremy Atheron Lin. She recalls working on Lin’s 2021 book, Gay Bar, wrapping up hot pink soaps to send to media contacts “while contemplating how to come out to my mom.” Now, she’s heading publicity for Lin’s upcoming novel, Deep House. “It’s a true delight to reach out to journalists, producers, and editors about queer books, authors, and issues,” she says. “It genuinely excites and inspires me to write pitches and organize events for the community I’m proud to be a part of.”
