Meet the Faculty

⭐ I am a graduate of Bard College with a B.A. in Written Arts. Before joining Linda Chester, I worked for Tom Yoon Productions developing projects and editing existing material. I am very happy to have entered the world of my first love, books. I sold my first picture book, IF MY SISTER WERE A WORM by Julie Hauswirth, and I have several books in a variety of genres and age brackets out on submission.

⭐ Mallory is a Senior Art Director at Macmillan Children's Publishing Group where she's had the pleasure of working on Mike Curato's graphic novel, FLAMER, Natalie Portman's FABLES, and Emmanuel Acho's UNCOMFORTABLE CCONVERSATIONS WITH A BLACK BOY. Previously, Mallory has worked at Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HMH, Alloy Entertainment, and Cider Mill Press, and has lectured at SCBWI, CBIG, the Highlights Foundation, and universities across the country. A sixth-generation Texan who's forsaken the motherland to live in Brooklyn, NY, she loves painting, cooking, writing, and playing fetch with her rescue pup, Birdie.

⭐ Daniela Villegas Valle joined Simon & Schuster in 2021 and is now an assistant editor to Justin Chanda and Anne Zafian. She’s worked on books with Justin Chanda such as GLEANINGS, THE BALLAD OF DARCY & RUSSELL, UNBECOMING, NOT QUITE NARWHAL, DALMATIAN, and the upcoming ALL BETTER NOW. 📚 Born in Mexico, raised (mostly) in Chile, and graduated in the US, she is drawn towards multicultural voices that speak about identity and adventure. Whimsical picture books, cozy fantasy, and character driven stories are some of the things that she loves to read and work on.

⭐ Aneeka Kalia is an Editor at Viking Children’s Books, where she primarily focuses on picture books and graphic novels for all ages. The books that she works on often explore themes of home and community, and she’s worked with creators like Anoosha Syed, Bianca Xunise, Frank Morrison and Scott Magoon. She loves a story with good puns that will make her belly-laugh. Some of her most notable books are MY BLOCK LOOKS LIKE by Janelle Harper and Frank Morrison, THAT'S NOT MY NAME! by Anoosha Syed, BIRTHDAY SOUP by Grace Seo Chang and Jaime Kim, and the WOMBATS! series by Maddie Frost. Aneeka is a native New Englander and currently lives in New York City. She likes to spend as much time outside as possible, usually with a cup of coffee in hand. Aneeka’s other interests include tennis, soccer, reality tv, yoga, and hiking.

Carrie Tillotson is the author of children’s books including ALPACAS HERE, ALPACAS THERE (Feb. 11, 2025); COUNTING TO BANANAS, an Oregon Spirit Book Award Honor winner and Oregon Book Awards finalist; and B IS FOR BANANAS, an SCBWI Crystal Kite Honor winner and Good Housekeeping Kids’ Book Awards winner. After getting a master’s degree in public health, Carrie worked as a biostatistician for more than ten years and now sculpts her interests in science into playful picture books. Carrie lives in Oregon with her husband, son, and two dogs who are always going bananas.