PAL EVENT: Editor Katie Carella

Katie Carella, M.Ed., oversees Scholastic’s Acorn early reader and Branches early chapter book lines aimed at beginning and newly independent readers. She has worked in publishing for twenty years. Katie began her career on the adult side. Then she earned her master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Pennsylvania, and taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades—all before entering children’s editorial. During Katie's time as an elementary school teacher, she saw that many beginning and newly independent readers craved complex stories yet there were few quality books on their reading level (back in 2005-2007). Since then, she has been on a mission to deliver page-turning books that hook new readers! So Katie reentered the world of book publishing in 2007, and she concepted and launched the Branches line at Scholastic in 2013, filling a gaping hole in the marketplace and carving out space for an early chapter book category. Today, Branches has two New York Times-bestselling series, two television shows based on our series, and more than 58 million books in print! The Acorn line launched in 2019 to answer the call for beginning-reader series that children can read before they’re ready for Branches books. Across the reading timeline, Katie remains as determined as ever to reaching and growing young readers! Outside of work, she can be found doing crossword puzzles, crafting friendship bracelets, sipping lattes, or biking around Nashville, TN.