Matthew Rowland-Jones (he/him) is Pearson’s Sustainability Manager. He manages the ‘Leading Responsibly’ pillar and targets in Pearson 2030 Sustainable business plan, including Pearson’s Net Zero carbon commitment. Previous roles over his 20 year career include – managing recycling services for Local authorities, sustainability consultant and prior to Pearson with a metal packaging company. His hobbies include spending time with his family, cooking, gardening, bonsai, mountain biking and reading.
Kyrell Grant (she/her) is a Sales Manager for Young Readers at Penguin Random House Canada she previously has worked in independent book sales and has been a freelance writer with bylines in Chatelaine and Toronto Life.
Laura Chapnick (she/her) is Marketing Director at House of Anansi Press and Groundwood Books. She started her career in fashion journalism and developed a long-standing interest in brand development and beautiful design. After completing an M.A. in Literatures of Modernity at Ryerson University, she moved her focus to book publishing. Since then, she has spent time in various roles in marketing and publicity at Penguin Random House Canada, House of Anansi Press, and Groundwood Books. She also sits on the Ontario Creates industry advisory committee for the book publishing sector.
Zoe Kelsey (she/her) is the Marketing Associate for House of Anansi Press and Groundwood Books, where she contributes to advertising campaigns, social media, newsletter outreach, and more. A graduate of Queen’s University, where she wrote for the Queen’s Journal and sat on a number of editorial boards for student publications, Zoe volunteered for Word on the Street and the Giller Light Bash before interning for HarperCollins Canada and Penguin Random House Canada. Zoe joined PRHC and worked as a Production Assistant for two years before joining Anansi/Groundwood to fulfill her love of connecting readers with very good books.
Elham Ali (she/her) is a writer and publishing professional based in Toronto. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2014, and since completing the Humber College publishing program she has worked in marketing and publicity at Canada’s Ballet Jörgen, Penguin Random House Canada, and Dundurn Press. She currently works as the Senior Publicist at ECW Press.
Jen Knoch (she/her) is the 2021 Book Summit programmer and senior editor at ECW Press, where she edits fiction and non-fiction.
Tiana Field-Ridley (she/her) is currently working with the Mental Health Commission of Canada as a workplace implementation specialist helping to develop and deliver services to support employers with implementation of workplace mental health strategies that align with the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
Tiana has a strong background in Mental Health, as a Mental Health First Aid Facilitator and trained conflict consultant, which provides a unique perspective to the team. She has a demonstrated history of working in the mental health and judicial systems in Alberta and is passionate about educating people about mental health.
Carmella Gray-Cosgrove was raised in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples, and lives in St. John’s, on Ktaqmkuk, the traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq and the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, with her partner and their child. Her fiction has appeared in Prism international, Broken Pencil, Freefall Magazine, the Antigonish Review and elsewhere. Nowadays and Lonelier was shortlisted for the NLCU Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers. She was the 2020 writer in residence for Riddle Fence Magazine. She holds a master’s degree in geography from Memorial University and was an F.A. Aldrich Fellow.