MEET LITTLE, BROWN SPARK

Tracy Behar

Vice President, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief

 

I joined Little, Brown in 2005 after working at Atria Books, Broadway Books, and HarperCollins. I oversee publishing across the Little, Brown Spark list, and as an editor, I acquire within the categories of health and medicine, science, social science, psychology, self-help, parenting, and reference. My books usually have a prescriptive element but they might also be narrative. Among the authors I’ve had the pleasure of working with are Josh Axe, Nicholas Christakis, Roy Peter Clark, Amy Cuddy, Joel Fuhrman, Arianna Huffington, Mark Hyman, Sue Johnson, Scott Jurek, Daniel Kahneman, Marie Kondo, Walter Mischel, David Perlmutter, John Ratey, William Sears, Donald and Lillian Stokes, Andrew Weil, and the Dalai Lama.

Marisa Vigilante

Senior Editor

 

I'm a senior editor who started with Little, Brown Spark in its founding year, 2018. I’ve been a book editor for more than a decade and currently acquire a range of health, diet, wellness, self-help, and lifestyle books. I look for innovative, iconoclastic nonfiction that helps people improve their lives, both prescriptive and narrative. I previously worked at Rodale Books and Penguin Random House, acquiring primarily for the Avery and Gotham imprints, and in the editorial departments of Random House Publishing Group. I've worked with several New York Times bestselling authors like Dave Asprey, Dr. Bill Davis, Lewis Howes, Jillian Michaels, and Dr. Kellyann Petrucci, as well as celebrities like fashion designer Zac Posen, musician Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, and superstar fitness trainer Tracy Anderson. Prior to entering the publishing world, I obtained a master’s degree in public health with a focus on health policy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Ian Straus

Associate Editor

 

I am an associate editor at Little, Brown Spark, where I work on a range of narrative and prescriptive nonfiction in categories including health, science, and psychology. I’m particularly drawn to books that make innovative ideas accessible, stories that find humanity in unusual places, and anything that makes the familiar seem strange. Highlights include You Can Stop Humming Now by Daniela Lamas, The Man Who Walked Backward by Ben Montgomery, and A Terrible Thing to Waste by Harriet Washington.

Fanta Diallo

Editorial Assistant

 

I am an Editorial Assistant at Little, Brown Spark, and Little, Brown and Company, where I work on a range of narrative and prescriptive nonfiction in categories including health, popular science, psychology, biography, politics and high concept/big think. I'm a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota where I majored in Business Marketing and Strategic Communications with a minor in design. I am a book lover and female advocate. I want everything I do in life to eventually lead to the greater benefit of women, and specifically Black women. Showcasing people's stories and experiences is very important to me; making me particularly drawn to books that center women, POC and LBGTQ+ individuals at the cross-section of current events, politics and unknown social movements meant to spark larger civic conversations.

Jessica Chun

Marketing Director

 

I have worked in publishing for over a decade with a focus on marketing nonfiction books that inspire and challenge readers. I have been with Little, Brown Spark since its launch in 2018. Previously, I worked at various imprints across Penguin Random House, including Dutton, Gotham Books, Avery, and Dorling Kindersley. At Spark I have the pleasure of working with some really amazing authors such as Daniel Kahneman, Marie Kondo, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Josh Axe, Dr. David Perlmuttter, Nicholas Christakis, Ingrid Fetell Lee, and many more.

Juliana Horbachevsky

Assistant Director, Publicity

 

I am the publicity lead for Voracious and Little, Brown Spark, focusing on the cooking, lifestyle, health/wellness, science, and psychology/self-help categories. I’ve spearheaded publicity campaigns for bestselling authors including Nicholas Christakis, Bobby Flay, Josh Axe, Mark Hyman, David Perlmutter, Jillian Michaels, and Deepak Chopra. At Little, Brown, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside authors such as Christopher Kimball, Maida Heatter, Isaac Toups, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, and David Tamarkin. Previously, I worked in publicity at Penguin Random House, Abrams, and Simon & Schuster. A graduate of Loyola University Maryland, I earned my BA with majors in Writing and Marketing.

Lauren Ortiz

Publicist

 

I joined Little, Brown in 2020 as an Associate Publicist with our Little, Brown Spark and Voracious imprints to focus on lifestyle, cooking, health and wellness, science, and psychology titles. Prior to joining Little, Brown, I worked at NBCUniversal as a Page in NBCU’s Page Program and later as a publicity coordinator with NBC Entertainment, where I assisted in publicity campaigns for late night and prime time television shows including Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Law & Order: SVU, and The Blacklist. In my time at Little, Brown, I’ve had the opportunities of working with talented authors such as Nicholas Christakis, Christopher Kimball, J.M. Hirsch, and Shawn Stevenson. A graduate of Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick, I earned my BS in Business Marketing.