Faculty

Allison Remcheck has worked in the publishing industry for nearly twenty years, and books—especially those for children and young people—have been her life-long passion. She works with numerous critically-acclaimed, award-winning, and New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors. Her clients have won awards like the Newbery Medal, Pura Belpré Medal, the Schneider Family Book Award, and the Coretta Scott King Honor, and range from picture book authors and illustrators, to a select group of adult fiction writers. A collection of her clients includes Donna Barba Higuera, Shannon Stocker, Alyson Gerber, Caroline L. Perry, Marie Arnold, and Karen M. McManus. stimolaliterarystudio.com/allison-remcheck

Tracy Shaw has been in publishing for over 25 years at Little, Brown and Company, currently an art director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (LBYR). She studied Illustration at RISD which led her to book design, and has worked on everything from board books to adult nonfiction. For 7 years she led the art direction of James Patterson’s children’s imprint, Jimmy Patterson Books, and is now back to doing what she loves best - picture books. tracybshaw.com

Jill Davis is the Editorial Director of Hippo Park, an imprint of Astra that publishes award-winning picture books for ages 0 to 8 and a selection of graphic novels for ages 7 to14. Hippo Park’s picture book list includes A Bear, a Bee, and a Honey Tree; A Delicious Story; Be My Yummy ABC; Itty Bitty Betty Blob, On the Air with Dr. Doodlebug, Pepper and Me, The Little Chefs and many more. These are picture books that respect kids’ intelligence, tickle their funny bones, and support their need for emotional connection. The graphic novel list includes several series: One Cool Duck (4 volumes), Brume (3 volumes), The Love Report (3 volumes), and Cross My Heart and Never Lie (3 volumes). Launched in 2022, the imprint was named after Hippo Playground in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Hippo Park Books' mission is to be a metaphorical playground of books that encourage children to try new things, escape to another world, and learn about themselves. Since arriving to children's book publishing in 1992, Jill has held editorial positions at Crown and Knopf, Viking, Bloomsbury, FSG, and HarperCollins. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Teens from Hamline University in St. Paul, and is the author of three picture books.

Andrew Karre is senior executive editor at Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group. Over the course of his two decades in publishing, he’s had the pleasure of publishing bestselling and award-winning books by creators including A.S. King, Ibi Zoboi, Malinda Lo, Ashley Hope Pérez, Joy McCullough, Candice Iloh, and many others. He lives in St. Paul, MN.

Ariel Richardson loves to work at the intersection of art and impact. As the picture book lead at Chronicle Books, she has been lucky enough to work with such amazing authors and illustrators as Andy J. Pizza, Grant Snider, Elizabeth Partridge, Dan Nott, Rebecca Stead, Carole Boston Weatherford, Molly Idle, Dinara Mirtalipova, and Marc Martin, among others. Books she’s edited have received accolades, from Invisible Things debuting on the New York Times bestseller list to Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration winning the Robert F. Sibert Medal and Bologna Ragazzi Award. She has worked at three independent bookstores on two coasts, and has a masters degree in Children’s Literature from Simmons University.

Courtney joined HarperCollins in 2016, and since then has been lucky enough to work on both acclaimed frontlist and beloved backlist titles. In building her own list, Courtney is largely focused on middle grade and YA books, with a particular interest in historical stories that haven't been told before, clever humor, queer romance, family dynamics, the occasional pop nonfiction, and writing that pulls her along to the next page. Some of her recent titles include Queso, Just in Time by Ernesto Cisneros; The Ordinary and Extraordinary Auden Greene by Corey Ann Haydu; The Deep Well by Laura Creedle; and Money Out Loud: All the Financial Stuff No One Taught Us by Berna Anat.

Sarah Dillard has been with the Painted Words family for over twenty years as an illustrator and author of picture books, beginner graphic novels and early chapter books. In 2021, she took on the new role of agent. Her goal is to help illustrators develop their ideas into stories only they can tell. Sarah is interested in stories that explore universal feelings that all children can relate to, but told in original voices with unexpected twists. She loves stories that strike to the core, and funny characters who stay with you long after the book is finished.

Jennifer Rofé wanted to live in the Berenstain Bears tree house when she was a child. Today, she represents the authors and illustrators who create the characters and worlds that inspire young readers. As a senior agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Jennifer works with creators primarily in the middle grade, picture book, and illustration spaces. Her clients range from seasoned, award-winning, and bestselling authors and illustrators to industry newcomers, including Meg Medina, Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Dev Petty, Mike Boldt, Amber Ren, and Eliza Wheeler. She has been on the faculty of many conferences including the Big Sur Writer's Workshop and numerous SCBWI events, and she is especially known for her The So What? Factor presentation.

Paula Weiman (they/them) joined the ASH Literary team in 2023 as an agent after a career in literary scouting and educational publishing. Based in New York and with a background in translation rights, they bring an international approach to selling their clients’ work. They represent authors and illustrators across a wide range of children’s categories, from picture book through young adult, as well as speculative fiction and illustration for adult audiences. Their goal is to help as many children as possible to see their experiences represented on the page for the first time. Paula is a member of the American Association of Literary Agents and a 2025 Literary Agents of Change mentee.