Staff & Contributors

Jeff O’Neal, CEO & Co-founder, reads books and writes about them. He has the great good fortune of living with his favorite person in the world and their two bright, beautiful children in Portland, OR.

Rebecca Joines Schinsky, Chief of Staff, has worked on the bookish internet since 2008, developing communities and products for book lovers. When she’s not traveling or cooking, you’ll find her running around Richmond, VA with her rambunctious golden retriever. She co-hosts the Book Riot Podcast and volunteers with local organizations supporting reproductive justice.

S. Zainab Williams, Executive Director of Content, is a writer and cartoonist. She co-hosts Book Riot’s SFF Yeah! podcast and is a member of PEN America’s Literary Awards Committee. Outside of reading, writing, and art, her current obsessions include rollerskating (quad skates forever), cooking, and all things occult.

Find her on Instagram @szainabwilliams.

Vanessa Diaz, Managing Editor, is a writer, reader, and former bookseller from San Diego, CA whose Spanish is even faster than her English. This Portland, OR transplant’s penchant for travel and a hot cuppa tea is rivaled only by her obsession with cozy mysteries, gothic lit, all things mythology and witchy, and cheese. She is a regular co-host on the All the Books podcast and can be found on Instagram at @BuenosDiazSD.

Kelly Jensen, Editor, is a former teen librarian who worked in several public libraries before pursuing a full-time career in writing and editing. Her books include Body Talk, Here We Are: Feminism for The Real World and (Don’t) Call Me Crazy. When she’s not reading or writing about young adult books or nonfiction of all flavors, she teaches yoga and is working on her second masters degree. She is passionate about the freedom to read.

Find her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.

Jenn Northington, Director of Editorial Operations, has worked in the publishing industry wearing various hats since 2004, including bookseller and events director, and is currently Director of Editorial Operations at Riot New Media Group. You can hear her on the SFF Yeah! podcast. She’s also the co-editor of Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices.

Find her on Instagram at iamjennIRL or on Twitter at jennIRL.

Danika Ellis, Associate Editor, is a former bookseller and a one time high school English teacher. Now, she spends most available moments talking about queer women books at the Lesbrary, a book blog she started in 2010 and runs with a team of reviewers.

Find her on Twitter at @DanikaEllis and @Lesbrary.

Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack.

Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.

Amanda Pecora, Production Coordinator, is a former bookseller born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She studied in Ireland before returning to Portland, Oregon with a Master’s in publishing and a cat. Her hobbies include judging books by their covers and tending to an ever-growing collection of houseplants.

She can be found on Instagram at @mandipecora.

Caitlin Brehm, Editorial Operations Associate, loves books, podcasts, coffee, and folklore. When she’s not working, you can find her researching the unexpected roots of fairy tales, engrossed in library books, and basking in the moody, mossy vibes of the Pacific Northwest.

samm saxby, Editorial Operations Associate, is a fiction writer, editor, and former bookseller who has worked in the indie publishing industry. samm is an Associate Editor for Forest Avenue Press; and Development and Copy Editor for the graphic novel series, WaterShed. They are writing their debut novel and have published work in Nailed magazine. samm is always working to dismantle racism and gatekeeping in book publishing.