AMANDA AND ROB BRODER
Chief operating officer and creative director, respectively
Ripple Grove Press, Shelburne, Vt.I
n the span of a year, Amanda and Rob Broder experienced a horrific
tragedy and a great joy. Eleven months after the death of their first
baby daughter, their second child, Eleanor, was born. Rob, then a sales
rep for a chocolate company, spent much time in a car alone pondering
the crushing burden of raising a child while mourning another. One source
of comfort for the couple was reading to their baby daughter. So one night,
after a long day on the road, he asked Amanda, “What if we start a children’s
picture book publishing company?” And Ripple Grove Press was born. In
October, the press that aims to create “beautiful and timeless picture books,” according to Rob, will celebrate five years. Amanda
handles the business side, and Rob handles the creative side and is the main liaison with authors. The two-person operation remains
small, releasing three to four titles a year with a backlist of 16. Giving back is important to both. Among their many charitable acts,
they participate in book drives to benefit the Children’s Book Bank in Portland, Ore., and donate books to children’s hospitals.HONOREES
4 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ SEPTEMBER 9, 2019
MARGOT ATWELL
Head of publishing
Kickstarter, BrooklynE
ight weeks ago, Atwell was promoted to the position
of head of publishing at Kickstarter. It’s easy to see
why. As part of a Kickstarter outreach team that
helps authors, publishers, booksellers, and literary
organizations to raise funds and build community around
their work, she has proven herself to be “an innovator and
strategic thinker,” her colleague Julie Cerick says. In May,
Atwell created and led the company’s first digital conference,
“The Next Page,” which featured forward-looking conversa-
tions in publishing. She also launched the Summer of Poetry,
which highlighted live and previously funded poetry projects,
and hosted a reading at the company’s headquarters. Atwell
is in the midst of writing a book, Don’t Steal This Book: Why
Paying for Words Is Radical and Necessary. “Margot is elevating
the positive presence of publishing at Kickstarter both inter-
nally and externally,” Cerick says.ANDREA BAIRD
Director of marketing
Triumph Books, Chicago Review Press, ChicagoW
hen Independent Publishers Group (the owner
and distributor of Triumph and CRP) restruc-
tured in 2018, Baird, who joined the com-
pany in 2012, was promoted from marketing
manager to director, and according to Michael Michalak, a col-
league, since then “she has built and led a small team of mar-
keting profes-
sionals to new
heights.” One of
the daily chal-
lenges that Baird
faces is creating
unique campaigns
for two com-
pletely indepen-
dent and very dif-
ferent publishing
companies. While
Triumph’s focus is
on sports and
entertainment, much of the Chicago Review list tends toward
weightier topics, often in partnership with a charity. Typical of
Baird’s creative campaigns is her strategy for Most of All Nine
Lives: The Extraordinary Life of Buffy the Cat, which included her
creation of a new holiday, National Tabby Day, celebrated on
April 30, which raises adoption awareness for animal shelters.
To make that happen she partnered with the Mayor’s Alliance
for NYC’s Animals and Bidawee, the leading pet-welfare orga-
nization serving metropolitan New York.