2025 Special Advisors Bios

Cevin Bryerman is the Chief Executive Officer at Publishers Weekly, the international news platform of the book publishing industry, and President of the PW Content Studio. He has been in the publishing business for more than 35 years, working at the helm of both trade and consumer magazines in strategic planning, business development, and strategic partnerships. Over the span of his career, Cevin has worked on many publications, including Boating Industry and Waterway Guides, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Variety, Modern Bride, American Baby, and others.

Cevin serves on industry committees, most notably the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). He is on the Board of Advisors of the NYU SPS Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts. Cevin earned his BS in Accounting and Finance at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Allison Dobson was appointed President of Penguin Publishing Group in April 2018. She oversees Penguin’s adult publishing business in the US, which includes Avery, Berkeley, Dutton, Penguin, Penguin Press, Plume, Portfolio, Putnam, Riverhead, Sentinel, TarcherPerigee, and Viking. Allison joined the company in 2008, first as a member of the Bertelsmann Entrepreneurs Program, and then in a variety of corporate and divisional roles at Random House and eventually Penguin Random House, most recently as Senior Vice President, Director of Strategy and Finance at Penguin. She serves on the Board of Advisors of the NYU SPS Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts. Allison has a BA in Economics and Government from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kristin Fassler is the Senior Vice President and Director of Integrated Marketing Strategy for the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Penguin Random House, where she oversees the creation and implementation of the consumer marketing, branding, and social strategies for over 300 fiction and nonfiction titles annually. She has worked on campaigns for bestselling authors including John Grisham, Michelle Zauner, Diana Gabaldon, Julia Child, Fredrik Backman, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, and George R. R. Martin. Kristin previously served as Vice President and Director of Marketing and Publicity at Simon & Schuster.

Andrea Fleck-Nisbet is Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). Before joining IBPA, she was the founding Vice President and Publisher at Harper Horizon, a nonfiction imprint of HarperCollins. Prior to that, Andrea was the Director of Content Acquisition for Ingram Content Group, where she developed initiatives that supported independent publishers of all sizes. She spent her first 15 years in the publishing industry at Workman Publishing, leading teams in special markets, sales, and digital marketing.

Jonathan Karp was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster in May 2020. In this role, he is responsible for all the publishing and operations of Simon & Schuster’s numerous publishing groups as well as its international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. Jonathan joined Simon & Schuster in June 2010 as Publisher of the company’s flagship imprint. During his tenure, he oversaw the publication of bestselling authors such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Irving, Walter Isaacson, David McCullough, Susan Orlean, and Bob Woodward, while launching acclaimed books by other notable authors and cultural figures brought to the imprint’s list during his tenure. During Jonathan’s tenure, the adult group launched a successful new imprint, Avid Reader Press, and established the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau.

Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Jonathan was Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Twelve, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group, which he founded in 2005. Prior to founding Twelve, he was Editor-in-Chief of Random House, where he began his publishing career in 1989 as an Editorial Assistant and worked for 16 years. Jonathan serves on the Board of Advisors of the NYU SPS Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts. He earned his BA from Brown University and his MA from New York University.

Sally Kim is President and Publisher of Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group that is comprised of the imprints Back Bay Books; Little, Brown; Little, Brown Spark; Mulholland Books; and Voracious. She was most recently Senior Vice President, Publisher of G. P. Putnam’s Sons at Penguin Random House, where she also acquired and edited acclaimed and bestselling fiction by Kiley Reid, Robert Jones, Jr., Chloe Benjamin, Steven Rowley, Megan Abbott, Sarah Winman, Alma Katsu, Cristina Alger, and Susan Barker. Sally has held senior editorial positions at Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, the Crown Publishing Group, and St. Martin’s Press, after getting her start at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency almost 30 years ago. In 2022, Poets & Writers honored her with The Editor’s Award. Sally serves on the Board of Advisors of the NYU SPS Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts.

Mary McAveney is President and Chief Executive Officer at ABRAMS. Prior to this position, she was the Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Open Road Integrated Media, where she developed and executed organic and inorganic growth strategies for the company, identified acquisition targets, and pursued them to completion, culminating with the sale of the company in 2021. Mary was previously Senior Vice President of Marketing and later Chief Marketing Officer at Open Road, and has also held positions at MSM Book Marketing, Smilebox, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins Publishers, and Harry N. Abrams, Inc. She serves on the Board of Advisors of the NYU SPS Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts. Mary earned her degree from the College of New Jersey.

Keith Riegert is the Publisher of the Brooklyn-based independent publishing companies, Ulysses Press and VeloPress Books. He is also a co-founder of the book publicity and digital marketing firm Pacific & Court and the printing marketplace Perfect Bound, as well as Little, Brown Lab and Kingfisher Press. Prior to his current role at Ulysses Press, Keith was Associate Director of Analytics for Hachette Book Group. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the NYU SPS Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts. Keith holds a BA in English literature from the University of California Santa Barbara and an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business.

Lorraine Shanley is President of Market Partners International. She began her career at Barnes & Noble and Book of the Month Club, where she was Executive Vice President in charge of clubs and merchandise. Lorraine moved to HarperCollins as Editorial Director, but left to co-found Market Partners International, which remains the only firm focused on consulting and recruiting for publishers. She serves on the Advisory Board of New York University’s Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts, and for five years chaired the Launch Kids Media conference at Digital Book World. A member (and past president) of Women’s Media Group, Lorraine is on the board of The Hudson River Museum and is a livery member of the Stationers Company Communications & Content Guild in London. She graduated from the University of Rochester and received her MA from the University of Virginia.

Carrie Thornton is the Vice President and Publisher of Dey Street Books at HarperCollins Publishers. Over the last decade, she has been integral to the launch of Dey Street Books in 2004 and establishing the imprint as the industry leader for top-quality, high-profile nonfiction. In her 25-year career, Carrie has acquired and edited nearly forty New York Times bestsellers, including The Storyteller by rock legend Dave Grohl, Paris: The Memoir by activist and icon Paris Hilton, Live Wire by actress, producer, and co-host of Live with Kelly and Mark, Kelly Ripa, The Office BFFs by The Office co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, Perversion of Justice by lauded Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown, international blockbuster Finding Freedom by royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Open Book by pop star and fashion mogul Jessica Simpson, Yes Please by actress and comedian Amy Poehler, and multiple books with Gabrielle Union, Alan Cumming, and RuPaul.

Tina Weiner is the former Director of NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute. She was previously Director of the Yale Publishing Course and worked at Yale University and Yale University Press as a Director in their Publishing department. Tina holds a BA in Art History from Smith College.

Kate Murphy Zeman is Head of News Product Business Development at Google. She has been at Google for more than 10 years. Prior to her current position, Kate was the Global Head of News and Publishing Partnerships, where she led business development for Google's News and Books product portfolio. Before joining Google, her previous roles included content marketing, merchandising, and product management at Barnes & Noble.com, Scholastic, and digital media startup iAmplify. Kate serves on the Board of Advisors of the NYU SPS Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts. She earned her BA in English Literature and Biology from Brown University.