Our Planning Team!
photo credit: Emily Berge-Thielmann
Rebecca Kuss (she/her) is a senior editor at Rick Riordan Presents/Disney Hyperion, specializing in middle grade and young adult fiction. Previously, she was an editor with HarperCollins and also worked as a Netflix's book-to-film scout for their children's division.
She was raised by a hard working immigrant mom in the icy suburbs of Wisconsin, where she spent hours finding cozy spots to read in her public library. With a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, where she studied issues of representation in children's literature, she then came to New York City to champion stories that provide mirrors, windows, and doors for marginalized and underrepresented voices. Follow her on twitter @reebsthereader for daily thoughts on Claudia Kishi, the perfect french fry, and of course, books.
Peter Knapp is a partner and literary agent at Park & Fine Literary and Media, where he oversees the children’s and young adult fiction department. He first began his foray into publishing while interning in the book-to-film departments of several film studios and production companies, including New Line Cinema and Overture Films. Upon graduating, he began work as a story editor at Floren Shieh Productions, a literary scouting agency that consulted on film and TV adaptations for Los Angeles-based studios and production companies. He joined Park & Fine, then the Park Literary Group, in 2011. Peter is a graduate of New York University, and now lives in Brooklyn with his husband.
Peter Lopez (he/him) is a writer and a dreamer. After graduating Rutgers University with a BA in Journalism and Media Studies, he decided what he really wanted to write about was magic. Now, he writes books about Latine kids going on epic adventures. He is represented by Beth Phelan at Gallt and Zacker.
Beth Phelan (she/her) has been working in publishing since 2010. A lifelong reader, she’s been caught reading by flashlight in hotel closets while on vacation and finishing stories in lieu of returning friends’ calls. She is a winner of the inaugural CBC Diversity Outstanding Achievement Award, a Publisher’s Weekly Notable Person of the Year Reader’s Pick, twice-nominated for The Ignyte Community Award for Outstanding Efforts in Service of Inclusion and Equitable Practice in Genre, and a Publisher’s Weekly Star Watch Honoree. She’s been a literary agent at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency since 2017 and is a member of the AALA.
Beth is also the Founder and was President and Executive Director of DiverseVoices, Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit organization that operated from 2019 to 2023. She created #DVpit, a pitch event for marginalized creators, in April 2016, and DVcon, a free virtual conference for marginalized book creators (2021 & 2022).
Most of her time is spent reading, editing, and playing with her ugly dog Beefy. You can follow her on Twitter at @beth_phelan.