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HOW IT ALL STARTED
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Acorn Publishing grew out of co-founders Jessica Therrien and Holly Kammier’s frustrating experiences with the book business.
Holly, a former journalist with a background in publicity, became disillusioned early on in her quest for publication when a traditional publisher expressed interest in her memoir but only if she changed it.
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Jessica had seen great success with Oppression, the first book in her YA series, Children of the Gods. But when her publisher mislabeled the second book as a romance novel instead of YA fantasy, fans couldn’t find it, and sales suffered.
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Acorn Publishing’s first releases were Holly’s juicy 2015 novel Kingston Court, which hit the Barnes & Noble top 50 list for all fiction, and Jessica’s Children of the Gods novels, which hit number 3 on the Barnes & Noble teen bestseller list, just behind The Hunger Games.
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They realized if they could create this kind of success for themselves, they could do the same for others. Almost a decade later, with more than 150 outstanding books under their imprint and a passionate, accomplished staff of industry experts, Acorn Publishing is an author's dream come true.
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HOLLY KAMMIER
Co-Founder & Acquisitions Editor
Visit Holly's Author Website: www.hkammier.com
Holly is the bestselling author of Kingston Court, Choosing Hope, and Lost Girl, A Shelby Day Novel. Publishing Director of the San Diego Writers Festival and on faculty with the prestigious Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Holly is a nationwide lecturer. Her essay All-American Girl was selected by the International Memoir Writers Association to be performed at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre.
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She is also an accomplished content editor whose authors have gone on to become USA Today and New York Times bestsellers. The former journalist has a professional resume that includes KCAL Los Angeles and CNN in Washington, DC. ​​A UCLA honor grad and mother to teenagers, Holly lives in her hometown of San Diego, close to family and friends.
JESSICA THERRIEN
Co-Founder & Bestselling author of Children of the Gods
Visit Jessica's Author Website: www.jessicatherrienbooks.com
Jessica Therrien is the author of the young adult series Children of the Gods. Book one in the series, Oppression, became a Barnes & Noble best-seller shortly after its release. Her trilogy has been translated and sold through major publishers around the world, such as Editions AdA (Canada), EditionsMilan (France), Dunwich Edizioni (Italy), and SharpPoint Press (China). Aside from her Children of the Gods series, Jessica is also the author of Carry Me Home, a contemporary YA novel, and a kid’s picture book called, The Loneliest Whale. Her award-winning stories can also be found in a published anthology of flash fiction. After growing up in the tiny town of Chilcoot, CA, population 108, Jessica currently lives in Irvine, CA with her husband and three young children.
LAURA TAYLOR
Senior Consulting Editor & Ghost Writer
Veteran Consulting Editor and Author Laura Taylor is a permanent faculty member of the Southern California Writers' Conference, a member of International Thriller Writers and the Authors Guild, and one of the original 25 Founding Members and served on the Board of Directors of Novelists, Inc. Her 20 years of editorial expertise extends across all fiction genres, non-fiction, academic texts, memoirs, and screenplays and she is available as a ghostwriter for select projects. The recipient of more than a dozen national writing awards and endorsements of her writing by creative luminaries WEB Griffin, the late Pat Conroy and Stephen King, she also holds a B.S. Degree in Criminal Justice and an MA in Communications.
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LESLIE FERGUSON
Director of Quality Control, Publishing Coordinator, & Editor
Leslie Ferguson is the award-winning author of When I Was Her Daughter, a memoir about how grit, hope, and luck lead a lonely, lost girl to the place she was always meant to be. An International Memoir Writers Association board member, writing coach, and editor whose authors have won multiple awards, Leslie enjoys her regular involvement with the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild, SD/Pen, and So Say We All. Leslie holds an MA in English Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing from Chapman University and is currently working on her second book, a novel about one woman's quest for intimacy, truth, and love.
After two decades of teaching in Orange County, this Southern California native settled in San Diego, where she is passionate about helping other writers achieve their dreams. She also loves good whiskey and lives happily with one husband and two cats.
JESSICA HAMMETT
Senior Publishing Coordinator & Ghost Writer
With a background in theater and film, storytelling is always at the forefront of Jessica’s heart and mind. While living in Los Angeles, pursuing a career in screenwriting, Jessica became passionate about creating a healthy community for women living in the city. She wanted women to not only gain leadership skills and confidence to go after the life they want, but have a strong support system to help them get there. Thus was born “She is Heard”, a movement to help every woman in the world know her story matters.
Jessica holds a Master’s in Peace and Justice from The University of San Diego, where she focused on how narratives and creativity can impact resiliency for women peacebuilders. Highlights from her program included being selected as a representative at the 2018 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, creating an arts-based component to the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice’s Women Peacemakers Program, and meeting with multiple social enterprises focused on peacebuilding in Bogota, Colombia.
Jessica has two published books under her ghostwriting belt with a third on the way. When she’s not writing or dreaming up ways to pour into the community, she loves going for walks or visiting coffee shops with her incredible husband and beautiful baby girl.
NICO SEIDITA
Publishing Coordinator & Events & Publicity Administrator
Raised on Percy Jackson and Goosebumps, Nico has always found the magical world of fiction enticing. After studying the craft of storytelling within the performing arts, he now plans to turn his passion for literature into a long-term career. The New York native lives in sunny Los Angeles, where he is pursuing an MFA in popular fiction writing and publishing at Emerson College. While he appreciates all kinds of stories, horror has his heart, and he’s a spirited advocate for more diverse representation in the genre. When he isn’t reading, you can typically find him watching scary movies, dancing to pop music, or strategizing how to win every board game he plays.
LILY ANDERSON
Publishing Coordinator
Originally from Washington state, Lily Anderson grew up surrounded by books and quickly developed a passion for reading and writing. She graduated from the University of San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies and minors in psychology and political science. During college, she served as managing editor of The USD Vista. She also contributed to the university’s marketing department, writing yearly magazine articles and assisting in the production of an Emmy-nominated video about environmental research in the Bahamas. Before stepping into her current role, Lily spent two years interning with Acorn, gaining indispensable experience in the publishing industry. Currently, Lily is exploring Europe and obtaining her MSc in political communication from the prestigious London School of Economics. When she’s not working or studying, you can find her enjoying live concerts, chasing sunsets, or listening to NPR while crocheting.
ZALA JAMBROVIC HATIC
Publishing Coordinator
Zala Jambrovic Hatic is a freelance editor with a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Edinburgh, a passion for storytelling, and a knack for spotting rogue commas and plot holes. She has worked with independent, trade, and academic publishers, and has edited over 120 fiction and nonfiction titles across various genres. Zala especially loves stories that bend reality, break hearts, or both. When she’s not wrangling sentences into shape, she’s likely hiking a dusty trail, baking something sweet, or getting overly competitive during board game night.
Website: https://www.goldenhornediting.com/
DEBRA CRANFIELD KENNEDY
Copy Editor & Interior Book Designer
Debbie, with an extraordinary eye for detail and design, has been formatting book interiors for the last decade, and performing high-quality proofreading, typesetting, page layout, prepress, and merging for the past forty years. Her passion blossomed early. A lifelong voracious reader, Debbie became fascinated with the symbols and lines on all kinds of printed pieces even before she learned letters. She got in trouble several times as a child for “writing” spiral characters all over her bedroom wall and in her parents’ books. The almost-native Californian lives in San Diego with her author husband, David Kennedy and, when she’s not making books more beautiful, she enjoys hiking, gardening, and creating jewelry.
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KAT ROSS
Consulting Editor & Interior Book Designer
Kat is the bestselling author of more than twenty novels across multiple genres. She won the 2022 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal for her Nightmarked series and loves exploring new worlds on the page. Before turning full-time to fiction, Kat spent fifteen years as a features editor and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Her first book, a dystopian YA thriller, was sold to a traditional imprint through an agent, but like Holly and Jessica, she ultimately grew frustrated with the glacial pace of the publishing industry, as well as the lack of control authors have over covers, marketing, etc. In 2016, she connected with Acorn to release her fantasy trilogy, The Fourth Element. It was a great success and she never looked back!
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Kat adores working with both new and established authors who want to hone their craft. Her goal is to ensure that your words flow smoothly and your story keeps readers turning the pages late into the night. When she’s not writing, editing, or playing around with fantasy map-making, Kat enjoys desperately needed non-butt-in-chair-time by practicing yoga and hiking. She lives in Connecticut with her teenage son.
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Marci Clark
Consulting Editor, Writing Coach, & Ghost Writer
Marci Clark, a seasoned editor with over two decades of industry experience, resides in the Midwest with her husband and a herd of rescue pets. Her academic background includes a Master of Science in Publishing, a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, and another in Public Relations.
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Beyond her editorial role, Marci is a versatile author, captivating readers across genres under various pen names. Marci's devotion to animal rescue, her creative endeavors, and her culinary explorations add a touch of sparkle to her introverted life.
DIANNE DIXON
Content Editor
Dianne Dixon is a double Emmy nominee and winner of the Humanitas prize for outstanding television writing. She taught writing at Pitzer College and Chapman University’s College of Film & Media. She wrote for Howie Mandel, produced family programming for NBC, ABC and FOX, and developed prime time drama for Sky Television UK and for Hallmark. Hallmark’s Nikki and Nora mystery series is based on characters created by Dianne.
Her three novels are: The Other Sister (a Mary Higgins Clark Award nominee), The Book of Someday (bought in a preemptive bid by Sourcebooks), and The Language of Secrets, which Sue Grafton said “…will have you puzzled and intrigued right up till Dixon’s sleight of hand is revealed.”
Dianne loves words, books, and working with authors to maximize their creativity.
DORENE UHRICH
Illustrator & Illustration Mentor
Dorene Uhrich has been an artist her whole life. She began her career as a children's book illustrator with Acorn Publishing and has taken on several projects for Acorn authors including, The Loneliest Whale, Sammy's Flame, and Jen's Hens Make New Friends.
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In addition to illustrating books for authors, Dorene mentors those who have the talent to illustrate their own work but need guidance with software, layout, and other technical aspects of the process.
Dorene lives in the woods with her husband and son where they chase their dogs and admire the view. She can often be found planting seeds, sewing, and cuddling in front of the fire.
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MOLLY LEWIS
Consulting Editor
Molly is a Postdoctoral Fellow in English at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She has a PhD in English from Baylor, a master's degree from the University of Edinburgh, and a bachelor's in literature and writing from Wheaton College. She has worked in communications for two non-profits in southern California and managed an independent publishing firm. When she's not editing, she's baking, reading intelligent books, and watching less-than-intelligent TV .
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JOSHUA YOUMANS
Website Designer
Tech wizard and experienced website designer, Joshua is a psychology major studying to become a licensed therapist. He plans to specialize in working with children on the spectrum. In his spare time Josh enjoys reading, drawing, and playing video games.
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KAYLA TORIS
Graphic Designer & Author Assistant
Kayla is a graphic designer who has earned her BFA from the Savannah College of Art & Design. The New Jersey native has been an avid reader since middle school, and by the time she reached high school, she had made it her goal to read one hundred books a year. All these years later, she's still going strong. Kayla's favorite genres are fantasy, YA, romance, and historical fiction. Thanks to her passion for all things books, she decided to work in the publishing industry designing book covers, promotional materials for authors, and interior formatting. When she's not reading or working on graphic design projects, she enjoys photography, riding her horse , and exploring with her Great Dane.
DANIELLE FISCHER
Interior Book Designer
Danielle Fischer is a USA Today and International Bestselling author with two Iowa awards. In 2017, she started writing her first book on a tablet and published as an indie author three months later. These days she has written and published 77 books in multiple genres, with a deep love for creating worlds and characters that can never exist. When she's chained to her desk, she enjoys mentoring young authors, writing for charity, and making book pages stunning as a creative outlet. After the work day is done, Danielle indulges in her baseball obsession, reads, hikes, and creates new recipes from scratch. She and her family of four live in Iowa.
JULIAN SMITH
IT Consultant
Julian began specializing in cyber security in 2008 but has been working in IT doing since 2001. CISSP certified, he has served as a security operations analyst for multiple financial institutions, a Fortune 500 medical supplier, and Sempra Energy, a North American energy infrastructure company. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional, Certified Novell Administrator, as well as Comptia A+ and Comptia N+ certified. He loves spending time with his family and enjoys fishing, surfing, hiking, and biking. Julian is supporting all of Acorn's Information Technology needs as our IT Consultant.
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ANNA WILLIAMS
Author Assistant
Growing up in a rural Arkansas town, Anna always had had an interest in the unknown and whimsical. Eventually becoming fascinated with Shakespearean literature and performance arts, Anna decided very early on to pursue a career supporting the arts. Shortly after receiving an associate degree in general arts, Anna moved to San Diego to pursue a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass media with hopes to work in the publishing industry. In her free time, Anna enjoys reading high fantasy novels and manga, as well as being an avid table-top gaming fan.
JAELAN McCLOUD
Copy Editor & Sensitivity Reader
Jaelan McCloud is a recent graduate of Western Colorado University where he obtained his BA in English Literature, and MFA in Creative Writing. Jaelan is an avid reader, and appreciates all genres of fiction. However, narratives that echo the soul of classic, philosophical science fiction are pieces of writing he will always cherish. Authors such as Frank Herbert, Ursula K. Le Guin, Issac Asimov, Octavia Butler, and William Gibson are among his favorite writers. Jaelan resides in Royse City, Texas where, in his free time, he plays basketball, goes on long walks, and reads until his eyes start to burn!
REBECCA VON DAMM
Intern
Rebecca recently graduated with a B.A. in English from UCLA and currently resides in sunny San Diego. She doesn’t have a favorite book genre because brilliant writers tend to surprise her in all forms—from The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson to Helium by Rudy Francisco. Rebecca used to write under an undercover pen name until her poetry was published on the UCLA Humanities website, spreading her fame throughout her family regions. You can still find her haiku popping up every now and then on Instagram: @heatherigarnet.
EMILY HANSEN
Intern
Emily holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is an aspiring author and publisher. Her love for reading and writing began early; some of her earliest memories involve her parents asking her to please put down her book, whether at family gatherings or even at restaurants in the middle of dinner. In her free time, Emily is currently working on a fiction novel set in the remote coastal town in Northern California where she grew up and she volunteers with the International Memoir Writers Association and San Diego Writers Festival. Emily also enjoys surfing, hiking, and playing pickleball!
ANNETTE QUIJADA
Intern
Annette is studying Journalism at Long Beach State. She's currently the News Editor for the Long Beach Current. She does a lot of work in news writing, but growing up in a big chaotic household she found reading as a place of escape. While she reads a lot of different genres, fantasy with a romance subplot is her favorite. And when she's not reading, you can catch her looking for her next news story, doing homework, at Disneyland or a concert.