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. She can be reached at rebecca@riotnewmedia.com.

S. Zainab Williams, Executive Director of Content, is a writer and cartoonist. She co-hosts Book Riot’s SFF Yeah! podcast, was a member of PEN America’s Literary Awards Committee, and co-edited Fit for the Gods: Greek Mythology Reimagined with Jenn Northington. Outside of reading, writing, and art, her current obsessions include gardening, cooking, and all things occult.

Find her on Instagram @szainabwilliams.

Vanessa Diaz, Managing Editor, is a writer and former bookseller from San Diego, CA whose Spanish is even faster than her English. She co-hosts Book Riot’s All the Books and All the Backlist podcasts and contributes regularly to The Deep Dive. When not reading or writing, she enjoys dreaming up travel itineraries, perusing estate sales, and drinking a lot of tea. Her reading interests include mysteries, gothic lit, mythology/folklore, romance, and all things witchy. She currently resides in Portland, OR, and is probably somewhere hugging a tree.

Find her 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. She was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker for 2024, as well as both a Person of the Year by Publishers Weekly and Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune in 2022 for her anti-censorship work. When she’s not reading or writing, she teaches yoga.

Find her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.

Danika Ellis, Editor, has successfully escaped the retail world of bookselling and the even scarier realm of teaching high school English. Now, they spend most available moments talking about queer books, including at the Lesbrary, a sapphic book blog she started in 2010 and runs with a team of reviewers.

a close-up black and white photo of Erica's face

Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN who 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, she serves as a writing mentor for the nonprofit Girls Write Now, and much of her free time is spent snack hunting and TBR wrangling.

Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.

a black and white photo of Amanda Pecora

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.

a black and white photo of Caitlin in front of a waterfall

Caitlin Brehm, Editorial Operations Coordinator, 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.

photo of Samm Saxby

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.

See all Riot New Media Group staff.

Senior Contributing Editor

Liberty Hardy

Contributing Editors

Alex Acks
Eileen Gonzalez
Emily Martin
Jamie Canaves
Jessica Plummer
Jessica Pryde
Katie McLain
Kendra Winchester
Margaret Kingsbury
Nikki VanRy
Patricia Elzie-Tuttle
Rachel Brittain
Trisha Brown

Senior Contributors

Alice Nuttall
Alison Doherty
Arvyn Cerézo
Chris M. Arnone
Connie Pan
Grace Lapointe
Julia Rittenberg
Isabelle Popp
Laura Sackton
Leah Rachel von Essen
Lyndsie Manusos
Pierce Alquist
R. Nassor
Rachel Rosenberg
Silvana Reyes Lopez
Steph Auteri
Susie Dumond

Contributors

Addison Rizer
Alex Luppens-Dale
Anne Mai Yee Jansen
Ashlie Swicker
CJ Connor
Carolina Ciucci
Courtney Rodgers
Elisa Shoenberger
Jeffrey Davies
Jessica Avery
K.W. Colyard
Kate Krug
Katie Moench
Megan Mabee
Nikki DeMarco
Rey Rowland
Summer Loomis
Vivienne Woodward
Yashvi Peeti