Who We Are

Dan López is an Associate Editor based in Los Angeles. His interests include literary and commercial fiction, cultural histories, works in translation (particularly from the Spanish), and books that explore the Hispanic/Latino(a)/Latinx experience. He grew up in Florida and has lived in New York City and San Francisco. 

Editorial projects he has contributed to include Red Paint by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe, Radiant Fugitives by Nawaaz Ahmed, A Tale of Two Omars by Omar Sharif, Jr. and he has acquired The Chinese Groove by Kathryn Ma.

Find Dan on Twitter @dan_lopez82. 

Jake Lovell is an Editorial Assistant based in San Diego. Jake earned his MA in Literature and Writing Studies from CSU San Marcos. He is also a veteran, having joined the Army in 2008. During his tenure, he was promoted to Sergeant and served on two deployments overseas. Born and raised in Southern California, Jake proudly comes from a mixed cultural background and is second generation Chicano on his mother’s side.

Dan Smetanka is the SVP/Editorial Director, Catapult Book Group based in Los Angeles. His authors have been winners and finalists for the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, The Hammett Prize, The Edgar Award, NAACP Image Award, Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and others. 

His authors include Joan Silber, Dana Johnson, Natashia Deón, Ben Ehrenreich, Karen E. Bender, Tod Goldberg, Gina Frangello, Vanessa Hua, Elizabeth Rosner, Nawaaz Ahmed, Abby Geni, Maria Hummel, and Jamie Harrison, among others.

Find Dan on Twitter @dansmetanka and Instagram @dansmetanka. 

Jack Shoemaker was the Founding Editor and Senior Vice President based in Berkeley and now serves as Contributing Editor Emeritus at Large. He began his literary career as a bookseller in 1963 in Santa Barbara, California. In 1979 he co-founded North Point Press with William Turnbull and served as the company’s editor-in-chief. In 1981 he won the Carey-Thomas Award for creative publishing and has also served as the West Coast Editor of the Knopf Publishing Group. In 1994 he joined Frank Pearl in founding Counterpoint Press. 

His authors include Wendell Berry, Gary Snyder, M.F.K Fisher, Gina Berriault, Evan S. Connell, Anne Lamott, James Salter, Ruth Jhabvala, Guy Davenport, Mary Robison, Rebecca Kauffman, and Margaret Wilkerson Sexton.

Harry Kirchner is a Contributing Editor based in Edmonds, WA. His interests include literary fiction and nonfiction, mystery, memoir, and natural history. He grew up in New Jersey prior to setting down roots in Washington. Harry spent more than thirty years as a sales representative and National Accounts Manager for Publishers Group West and Ingram Publisher Services before founding Pharos Editions and moving into the editorial side of the business.

His acquisitions include Spells by Peter Rock, Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot, Nature Matrix by Robert Michael Pyle, This Town Sleeps by Dennis Staples, The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh, The Houseboat by Dane Bahr, and Red Paint by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe.

Yukiko Tominaga was an Editorial Assistant based in Berkeley and now serves as Contributing Editor. Born and raised in Japan, she is passionate about introducing undiscovered Japanese authors to U.S readers. She is also interested in works by immigrant writers. 

Her titles include Colorful by Eto Mori, Dead-End Memories by Banana Yoshimoto, The Forest Brims Over by Maru Ayase, and A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata.

Find Yukiko on Twitter @yukiko_tominaga. 

Personnel
Elizabeth Koch, CEO
Alyson Forbes, Publisher/COO

Dan Smetanka, SVP/Editorial Director, Catapult Book Group
Dan López, Associate Editor
Jake Lovell, Editorial Assistant
Jack Shoemaker, SVP, Founding Editor
Harry Kirchner, Editor at Large
Yukiko Tominaga, Contributing Editor
Shane Hawk, Contributing Editor

Nicole Caputo, Creative Director
Victoria Maxfield, Junior Designer Assistant
Eric Wilder, Design Assistant

Wah-Ming Chang, Director of Managing Editorial
Laura Berry, Senior Production Editor
Olivia Hammerman, Production Editor

Olenka Burgess, Production Director
Caroline Foulke, Production Assistant

Megan Fishmann, Vice President, Associate Publisher and Senior Director of Publicity
Lena Moses-Schmitt, Assistant Director of Publicity
Andrea Córdova, Senior Publicist
Amina Washington, Assistant Publicist

Rachel Fershleiser, Associate Publisher, Executive Director of Marketing
Ashley Kiedrowski, Digital Marketing Manager
Lily Philpott, Events Manager
Skye Tarshis, Marketing Assistant

Katie Mantele, Publishing Operations Associate
Miriam Vance, Contracts & Rights Associate, Awards Coordinator