Richard Rhorer has led Simon Element since the launch of the imprint in 2021. As the founding publisher behind this venture, Richard and the Simon Element team have established a vibrant home for informative, instructive, and inspirational nonfiction that features bold, original design. Since the first books hit shelves in 2022, Simon Element titles have regularly appeared on the New York Times and many other bestseller lists.

Prior to his current role, Richard served as deputy publisher of Simon & Schuster for a decade. During this time, he orchestrated publication strategies and marketing campaigns for numerous bestselling books, including modern classics like Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat, Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty, Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski, and Contagious by Jonah Berger. During his years as deputy publisher, Richard also collaborated with Marysue Rucci to launch bestselling novels from acclaimed authors such as Laura Dave, Jessica Knoll, and Mathew Thomas. Richard and Marysue now work together to publish novels and narrative nonfiction under the Marysue Rucci Books imprimatur.

Richard's achievements extend beyond publishing, as he also developed and launched top-rated podcasts, "Mobituaries" with Mo Rocca and "Unsung Science" with David Pogue in partnership with CBS News. Prior to Simon & Schuster, Richard held a series of sales, marketing and digital business development positions at HarperCollins and Macmillan.

Doris Cooper was named vice president and editor in chief of Simon Element in 2021. Prior to joining Simon Element, she was editor in chief of Clarkson Potter. She oversaw a lifestyle list that included #1 New York Times bestsellers by Ina Garten; Chrissy Teigen; and Gina Homolka, whose Skinnytaste books have grown into a multimillion-copy franchise, as well as bestsellers such as Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin, Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz, and The Home Edit by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. Among the bestsellers Doris has edited are Dinner and Dinner in One by Melissa Clark, Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman, and the James Beard Award–winning Where Cooking Begins by Carla Lalli Music. Doris rejuvenated Clarkson Potter’s gift program, which published the million-copy Q&A a Day series and Michelle Obama’s Becoming journal, as well as stationery, jigsaw puzzles, and decks by leading authors and debut artists alike. Forthcoming books on Doris’s Simon Element list include a definitive bread-baking book from King Arthur Flour; Joyfull, Radhi Shetty’s inspiring and wide-ranging vegan cookbook; an expanded edition of the self-published cookbook Plantifully Lean by Kiki Nelson; and a groundbreaking book that explains the effect of hormones in every aspect of a woman’s life after age thirty-five by Elizabeth Poynor, acclaimed integrative health expert and gynecological surgeon at NYU. As a senior editor at William Morrow and later at Touchstone/Fireside, Doris worked with Nikki Giovanni, bell hooks, the New York City Ballet, and the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. Her first publishing job was as an intern at Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Areas of Interest: Cooking, Health & Wellness, Home, Design, Behavioral Psychology, and Personal Development

Justin Schwartz joined Simon & Schuster in 2020 as vice president and executive editor. Justin’s publishing career spans thirty years, and his acquisitions include all-time bestsellers and classics such as The Whole30, which spent 116 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. He has published books by celebrity chefs, television personalities such as Drew and Jonathan Scott of Property Brothers, and blogging and social media superstars like New York Times bestsellers Binging with Babish by Andrew Rea and The Defined Dish by Alex Snodgrass. At Simon Element, Justin continues to enthusiastically publish in the lifestyle category with a focus on books that better lives and that are best portrayed through photography and other visually driven formats, including New York Times bestsellers Preppy Kitchen by John Kanell, Somebody Feed Phil the Book by Phil Rosenthal, An American in Provence by Jamie Beck, and Tasting History by Max Miller.

‍Areas of Interest: Cooking, Wine & Spirits, Health & Wellness, Spirituality, Home

Leah Miller is a founding member of the Simon Element team. She began her editorial career at Free Press, and has worked at Atria, Harmony Books, Rodale Books, and Grand Central Publishing. Leah specializes in practical and narrative nonfiction that inspires, informs, and empowers readers to create change in their lives. She has edited and published award-winning and bestselling prescriptive and narrative nonfiction throughout her career, including books by Bill Nye, Vishen Lakhiani, Pedram Shojai, Dr. William Li, Joanne Huist Smith, Mira Bartók, Julia Scheeres, and many others. A graduate of Johns Hopkins, she lives in Westchester with her husband and two children.

Areas of Interest: Health, Wellness, Personal Transformation, Relationships, Parenting, Productivity, Inspiration

Samantha Weiner joined Simon Element as executive editor in 2022. With a keen eye for thought leaders and authors at the forefront of cultural conversations, Samantha has also worked with authors such as comedian Iliza Shlesinger, whose most recent Netflix special, Hot Forever, recently premiered; DJ Envy, cohost of The Breakfast Club; dating expert Nick Viall; Scott Aukerman of Comedy Bang! Bang!; and Questlove. At Simon Element, Samantha bridges the illustrated and non-illustrated lists. Samantha launched her publishing career at Abrams, where she rose from editorial assistant to executive editor and was a driving force in the expansion of their nonfiction list. At Abrams she was the editor of such breakout successes as Shea Serrano’s New York Times bestsellers The Rap Year Book and Basketball (and Other Things); Amanda Seales’s Small Doses, which was a Good Reads Choice; Complex Media’s much-coveted Complex Presents: Sneaker of the Year; and Why I March, a visual tour-de-force of the women’s movement today. Samantha holds an MFA in creative writing from American University and has been a writing instructor at the Wharton School of Business.

Areas of Interest: Personal Development, Popular Culture, and Illustrated Reference

Veronica (Ronnie) Alvarado joined Simon & Schuster in 2019. Ronnie began her career at Skyhorse Publishing and previously worked at Tiller Press, where she edited a variety of commercial nonfiction titles, including Fitness for Every Body by Meg Boggs. At Simon Element, Ronnie strives to publish voice-driven works by bold innovators that inspire readers and incite action. Upcoming titles on her list include New York Times–bestselling author Dr. Jolene Brighten’s Is This Normal?; Diana Helmuth’s spirituality memoir Witch Year; 1000 Words, edited by Jami Attenberg; and a currently untitled work on finding success through astrology by Ophira and Tali Edut, aka the AstroTwins. Ronnie is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Columbia Publishing Course.

‍Areas of Interest: Personal Development, Relationships, Mind, Body, Spirit, Health & Wellness, and Memoir

Emma Taussig joined Simon Element in 2021 and currently assists Leah Miller and Ronnie Alvarado. She graduated over Zoom from Smith College in June 2020, after which she worked as a stay-at-home daughter in Minneapolis. Her degrees in sociology and French studies were not put to very good use during this time, though she did find a number of virtual freelance jobs, from setting up social media accounts for a designer shoe distributor to transcribing interviews for a free-jazz musician. She is drawn to work that discusses social media, sexuality, the internet, interpersonal relationships, and anything that provides an immersive snapshot of contemporary culture.

Areas of Interest: Memoir, Popular Psychology, Sociology, Sexuality, and Relationships

Katie McClimon joined Simon Element in 2022 as an editorial assistant to Richard Rhorer and Doris Cooper. She graduated from Wesleyan University in 2020 with a degree in English and psychology. Prior to joining Simon Element, she worked as a publishing assistant at powerHouse Books, and previously held internships at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC Literary Agency and New York City Center. Having also worked in a wine store, she is drawn to books on wine and spirits, as well as cooking, psychology and wellness, and design.

Areas of interest: Cooking, Wine & Spirits, Psychology, Art & Design

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Gina Navaroli joined Simon Element in 2022 as an editorial assistant to Justin Schwartz and Samantha Weiner. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism and has held internships at Hearst Autos and Hour Detroit magazine. She recently worked as an editorial assistant at MSNBC’s Know Your Value, where she wrote articles about empowering women in their professional and personal lives and transcribed interviews for Morning Joe cohost Mika Brzezinski. In 2022, she attended the NYU Summer Publishing Institute, which led to her current position at Simon & Schuster. She is interested in books on cooking, home design, wellness, and poetry.

Areas of interest: Cooking, Health & Wellness, and Interior Design

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Marysue Rucci is vice president, publisher, and editor in chief of Marysue Rucci Books. She joined the Simon Element team in December 2022 after having been vice president and editor in chief of the Simon & Schuster imprint for nine years, where she oversaw the imprint’s fiction program. Marysue acquires a range of literary and commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. Recent titles include the #1 New York Times bestseller The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, which sold 2 million copies and was a selection of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club, and which will soon be an Apple TV+ series starring Jennifer Garner; the New York Times bestseller The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan, which was long-listed for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was a selection of the Read with Jenna Book Club; the New York Times bestseller The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda; and the national bestseller Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark. Forthcoming titles include Calling Ukraine by 5 Under 35 honoree Johannes Lichtman; Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (author of Luckiest Girl Alive); and the debut novels The Mythmakers by Keziah Weir and Shark Heart by Emily Habeck. Over the course of her career, Marysue has worked with celebrated and bestselling authors including Shonda Rhimes, Sarah Ruhl, Alice Hoffman, Paul Yoon, Mona Awad, Helen Phillips, Ann Leary, Rebecca Traister, Susie Yang, and Helene Cooper.

Emily Graff joined Marysue Rucci Books and Simon Element as an Executive Editor in August 2023. She began her career at The Penguin Press, and has worked at Simon & Schuster and Harper. She has published an array of critically acclaimed and bestselling authors. Notable titles include The Barbizon by Paulina Bren, Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé, the New York Times bestseller How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell, the #1 New York Times bestseller Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat, the New York Times bestseller Mobituaries by Mo Rocca, and How to Not Die Alone by Logan Ury.

For Marysue Rucci Books, Emily acquires a range of nonfiction, including biography, history, memoir, narrative nonfiction, and idea-driven nonfiction. For Simon Element, Emily’s areas of interest include cooking, health & wellness, personal development, and psychology.

Andy Jiaming Tang, publishing coordinator for Marysue Rucci Books, first joined Scribner in spring 2021, assisting the marketing team. As an editor, he’s drawn to voice-driven fiction and nonfiction by marginalized writers—in particular narratives that explore questions of identity, race, queerness, and/or class.

Patrick Sullivan joined Simon Element at its launch in 2021 as art director. Prior to that, he was the art director at Tiller Press, another nonfiction Simon & Schuster imprint. Before returning full-time to the world of publishing, he was vice president and creative director for the Araca Group, a multimedia agency that designed for everyone from Ozzy Osbourne to Beyoncé.

Kristina Juodenas joined Simon Element in May of 2023 as Associate Art Director. Prior to joining Simon Element, she was an Art Director at Harper Collins for 4 years, and prior to that spent nearly 4 years as Art Director for Lonely Planet’s quarterly US Travel Magazine. She has nearly 15 years of experience in the design industry including a stint in gift book publishing where she created stationery and gift book products for multiple national mass-market brands. She is originally from Nashville, Tennessee and moved to New York in January of 2023 with her two cats.

Elizabeth Breeden joined Simon Element as senior director of marketing in August 2022. She works closely with the sales, production, editorial, and publicity departments and oversees all marketing for the imprint. Previously, Elizabeth spent nine years with the Simon & Schuster imprint, beginning as an editorial assistant before moving to the marketing team in 2015, where she planned and executed campaigns for multiple New York Times bestselling novelists, including The Last Thing He Told Me author Laura Dave, The School for Good Mothers author Jessamine Chan, Jessica Knoll, Alice Hoffman, Mary Higgins Clark, Lauren Weisberger, Megan Miranda, and Nelson DeMille, as well as nonfiction bestsellers by authors such as Jerry Seinfeld, Rebecca Traister, Susan Orlean, Alex Trebek, and Hillary Clinton. Elizabeth holds a degree in English literature from Smith College and a certificate in publishing from the Columbia School of Journalism, and has previously taught in the publishing master’s degree program at New York University. She’s lived in nine cities across four continents and loves hosting dinner parties and exploring Manhattan with her rescue dog, Jean Paul.

Ingrid Carabulea joined Simon Element in October 2021. She’s a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously interned at Writers House and W. W. Norton. She’s worked on campaigns for the New York Times bestsellers Tasting History by Max Miller, Somebody Feed Phil the Book by Phil Rosenthal, and An American in Provence by Jamie Beck, and supports the team with campaigns across the Simon Element and Marysue Rucci Books imprints.

Ali Kochik joined Simon Element in 2023 as a marketing assistant to Elizabeth Breeden and Ingrid Carabuela. She graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English and minors in journalism and women’s and gender studies. She spent time as a staff writer, Op-Ed Editor, and Managing Editor for the university newspaper, The Quad, as well as working as a Peer Educator for the campus Center for Women and Gender Equity. Here, she launched a diversity-focused book club which challenged students to interact with #OwnVoices stories across all genres, and allowed them to take part in events with visiting authors. Prior to joining Element, she spent time as a freelance editor for local writers. She is a self-proclaimed bookworm and lover of all things literary.

Michael Andersen joined Simon & Schuster in 2018 to help start the company’s cultural intelligence team. He was previously a vice president and director of strategy & analytics for Digitas Health. Before that, he taught advertising courses at Villanova University as an adjunct professor, helped launch Wired.com’s Decode blog, and was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar. Michael writes about alternate reality games, escape rooms, puzzle hunts, and other forms of immersive entertainment for ARGN.com. At Simon & Schuster, Michael leverages data to assist authors and Simon Element colleagues in identifying opportunities that will connect our books with the right audiences at the right times.

Jessica Preeg joined Simon Element in 2021 as the deputy director of publicity. Prior to joining the team, Jessica was the assistant director of publicity at St. Martin’s Press, working across genres with house authors including Nora Roberts, Rainbow Rowell, and Katherine Center. She also worked on a variety of lifestyle and culinary campaigns, including Food for Life by Laila Ali, The Bikini Body 28-Day Healthy Eating & Lifestyle Guide by Kayla Itsines, The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History by Ana Sofía Peláez, and The Blue Bloods Cookbook by Bridget Moynahan and Wendy Howard Goldberg. Most recently, Jessica was at Amazon Publishing, where she led publicity for Amazon Original Stories. At Simon Element, Jessica oversees and executes national publicity campaigns, working to secure significant media coverage and awareness across all titles.

Clare Maurer joined Simon Element / Marysue Rucci Books in 2023 and works with Megan Miranda, Jessica Knoll, Paul Yoon, Mona Awad, Vanessa Chan and others. Most recently, she executed lead fiction and nonfiction campaigns at Scribner, where she worked with Jesmyn Ward, Kiese Laymon, Sidik Fofana, Shonda Rhimes, Ken Jennings, Owen King and others. Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, she held publicity and marketing positions at St. Martin’s Press. She is a graduate of Monmouth University.

Nan Rittenhouse joined Simon & Schuster in December 2020 as a publicity assistant. On the Simon Element team, she works closely with Director of Publicity Jessica Preeg. Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, she interned at Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, PEN America, and the Book Report Network. At Fordham University, Nan majored in English literature and minored in marketing, and she assisted on academic research on the history of book publishing.

Grace Noglows joined Simon Element in 2023 as a publicity assistant to Jessica Preeg. She graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder with a degree in marketing and a certificate in global business from the Leeds School of Business. Prior to joining Simon Element, Grace interned at The Sawtooth Group and Orderleigh Home with positions in account management and social media. She is interested in books on cooking, health + wellness, relationships, and design.

Nicole Bond joined Simon & Schuster as vice president and director of subsidiary rights in May 2019 and is the rights director for Atria and Simon Element. She has worked in the rights departments of the Hachette Book Group and the Random House Publishing Group, and has handled the rights for authors such as Thomas Harris, Admiral William H. McRaven, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Senator Edward M. Kennedy. A graduate of Barnard College, she started her career as a literary scout with Maria B. Campbell Associates.

Sara Bowne joined Simon & Schuster in 2014. She works with Nicole Bond and concentrates on licensing domestic rights for all Atria and Simon Element titles. She holds a BA in English from CUNY Queens College and a certificate in book publishing from NYU SCPS.

Rebecca Justiniano joined Simon & Schuster in November 2021 as a subsidiary rights assistant for Atria Books and Simon Element. Before supporting Nicole Bond, Rebecca held a marketing internship with the independent publisher Hannacroix Creek Books, Inc., whose publications include a wide range of YA and children’s illustrated books, and was a bookkeeper for Abrams Fensterman, LLP. She earned a BA in creative writing from Adelphi University and a certificate in book publishing from the Columbia Publishing Course.