Director: Jessie Glenn
Jessie Glenn attended Reed College and Portland State University in Portland, Oregon then started a book publicity company, Mindbuck Media Book Publicity, in 2006. A one year stint as a book publicist for Encore through Amazon's publishing wing gave Jessie singular insight into Amazon's systems of ranking and algorithms. Over a decade working with small, medium and large traditional publishers has contributed to Jessie's remarkably well-rounded understanding of 21st century publishing and distribution.
Jessie's publicity work has been highlighted in Poets & Writers Magazine, Annie Jenning’s EliteWire, AWP, and numerous “Ask the Expert” articles. In addition to judging for The Rising Star awards, Jessie is also a judge for the IndieReader Discovery Awards. Jessie's personal essays have been published in NYT, WaPo, Salon, Toronto Star, Cleaver, and elsewhere.
A well-known member of Portland’s vibrant writer’s community, Jessie has taught a book publicity class for Portland State University's Masters in Publishing degree. A comfortable, well practiced public speaker, Jessie also coaches authors for media training. The captain at the helm of the Mindbuck Media ship, Jessie has lead the company through an extended period of growth and expansion, making Mindbuck Media Book Publicity one of the largest, most comprehensive book publicity companies in the US.
Author Services: Vinnie Kinsella
Vinnie Kinsella’s work with books began in the second grade when he and his classmates wrote and illustrated a story about the adventures of an ice-cream-loving giraffe. As an adult, his skills as a book designer, editor, and publication manager have been employed by a wide range of authors, book service providers, and publishers. At Mindbuck, Vinnie specializes in helping independent authors professionally format their books and properly set them up for bookstores sales. Vinnie lives in Portland, Oregon, where he drinks a lot of coffee and sings with his choir.
Author Services and Editor: Deborah Jayne
Deborah Jayne is a literary publicist and editor with over fifteen years of experience in the publishing industry. Former director of publicity at Tin House Books and special sales manager at Timber Press, Deborah now focuses on freelance work. Her clients include publishing houses of all shapes and sizes, a NY literary agency, and independent authors of all stripes. At Mindbuck, Deborah specializes in the creation and review of proposal packages and query letters, award submissions, and book tours. She has an MA in writing through the book publishing program at Portland State University, and she lives in Portland, OR.
Social Media Director/Manager: Hannah Richards
As a Social Media Manager, Hannah Richards loves building robust, online followings and active, influential connections for the authors at Mindbuck Media Book Publicity as well as two theater companies. Hannah has a BA in Theater Studies from Guilford College and comes from a long line of writers. Before managing Social Media full time, she worked as an acting teacher and preschool teacher at the Louisville Preschool. Dedicated to spreading the word about the arts, Hannah loves diving into each new campaign.
Book Publicist: Camylle Fleming
Camylle Fleming is a book publicist and project management professional with specialties including government, healthcare, law, international relations, plant medicine, book curation for libraries and reproductive services. As a freelance leadership development facilitator, she enjoys carrying out virtual and in person writing workshops for creatives and professionals. She is currently based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Book Publicist: Cassie Murray
Cassie Mannes Murray is a publicist at Mindbuck Media, and a literary agent at Howland Literary. Before she weaseled her way into publishing, she was a designer and did marketing for Ecotone Magazine and Lookout Books, taught high school English, as well as graphic design and publishing at the university level. For writing, she has a distinguished MFA in creative nonfiction from UNCW, has received a notable in Best American Essays, been awarded travel grants, fellowships, and scholarships for writing workshops and conferences, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her writing has been featured in The Rumpus, Story Quarterly, Passages North, Hobart, Joyland, Slice Magazine, and Fugue. She lives in rural North Carolina with her family.
Book Publicist: Emily HagenBurger
Emily HagenBurger’s love of finding new audiences for authors and new books for readers means that she has found her sweet spot in book publicity. Emily has spent the last five or so years working on book campaigns for Independent Publishers Group in Chicago and Overcup Press and Ooligan Press in Portland while obtaining her masters in book publishing from Portland State University.
Book Publicist: Izarra Varela Moore
Izarra Varela Moore is a book publicist and freelance editor with over a decade of experience in marketing and promotion. Former positions include business management and consulting, education programming, legal publishing, multimedia marketing and academic research; her editing specialties include psychology, economics, public policy, politics and law. Izarra holds a BA in Economics from Reed College and Masters in Psychology (PCPsych) from the University of Hong Kong. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter.
Book Publicist: Jennifer Ladwig
Jennifer Ladwig is a publicist with Mindbuck Media, and an editor with the Lewiston Tribune in Lewiston, Idaho. Jen has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Washington State University and a master's in book publishing from Portland State University, where her studies centered around children's publishing. She has worked for a variety of daily newspapers, university magazines, and independent book publishers, including Ooligan Press, Overcup Press, and Paper Playground Press. She lives in Lewiston, Idaho.
Social Media Manager: Jennifer Ray
As a Social Media Manager, Jennifer Ray loves crafting engaging content, building active communities, and increasing brand awareness for the authors at Mindbuck Media Book Publicity. Jennifer has a BA in English from the University of Maryland, College Park, and Film Production Professional Certificate from Los Angeles City College. Passionate about showing every brand in its best light, Jennifer loves creating cohesive profiles that allow that brand to shine..
Book Publicist: Kristen Ludwigsen
Born and raised in the great literary city of Portland, Oregon (and darn proud of it), Kristen grew up amongst the shelves of Powell’s and neighborhood bookstores. She holds a BA in English from Lewis and Clark and an MA in Book Publishing from Portland State. She’s been a publisher's assistant for Ooligan Press, a digital marketing intern for Overcup Books, and is now loving every minute of being a book publicist, finding joy in helping authors spread the word about the books they’ve put their hearts and souls into creating.
Book Publicist: Ivory Fields
Ivory Fields received her bachelor’s degree in English literature, language, and writing from Central Michigan University and her master’s degree in book publishing from Portland State University. With a passion for all things literature from a young age, Ivory has worked with slam poets, literary arts magazines, publishers, and literary nonprofits, as she grew her marketing and publicity skills. Her love for social action bleeds into her love for books and has inspired much of the work she has done in her professional career so far. As the creator of the “How to: Publishing” workshop for underrepresented authors in the Portland, Oregon, community, Ivory is passionate about uplifting underserved voices and introducing them to excited readers.
Book Publicist: Rae Anderson
Rae Anderson is a Brooklyn-based writer and publisher. She has a BA in English from Hunter College, with a focus on contemporary literature and communication studies. She was a 2020 fellow with Wendy’s Subway, a non-profit independent publisher and reading room. Her work there focused on literature as activism and as a forum for dialog. Her poetry has appeared in No, Dear magazine and Open Fruit magazine. She is a prospective MFA student in creative writing.
Book Publicist: Lisa Pegram
Lisa Pegram is a writer, educator and arts integration specialist. She has over 20 years of experience in high-level program design for such organizations as the Smithsonian Institute, Corcoran Gallery of Art and National Geographic. A master of art as activism, she was DC WritersCorps program director for a decade, and served as co-chair of international women’s conferences in the US, India and Bali. Her endeavors as a publicist are sparked by her natural talent as a “connector” to cultivate and leverage her extensive network in service of others. Lisa completed her MFA at Lesley University and has an Executive Certification in Arts & Culture Strategies from UPenn. She’s currently based in the Caribbean where, in addition to her literary pursuits, she is a personal chef aka food poet.
Social media Engagement Specialist: Mireille Crocco
As an all-out creative, Mireille enjoys writing, publishing and performing which makes the work of being an engagement specialist a pretty good fit--her aim is to grow and maintain an online presence for writers through thoughtful engagement strategies. Mireille is a voracious reader with a background in theater, gender studies and environmental sustainability.
Web Designer: Bryn Kristi
Bryn got her Master’s in Book Publishing from PSU, focusing on design and marketing. As a designer Bryn makes sure all the marketing materials are pleasing to the eye. Bryn designs and updates websites for authors and small businesses, creates business logos and themes, and designs books and magazines.
Illustrator: Tina Granzo
Tina Granzo's 17+ years of experience in designing and developing websites has provided her with the tools necessary to help authors develop a strong web presence quickly and without going bankrupt. When called upon, her formal fine arts training (she has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Michigan) makes the leap from coding websites to illustrating books a breeze.
