George Maio
Executive Director
gmaio@bookpros.com
George Maio brings almost thirty years of achievement in consumer marketing, printing, sales and design to BookPros. His experience affords him broad insight into every aspect of what makes a quality book. As managing director he monitors the progress of BookPros books though all phases of publication and consults with authors when necessary about specific aspects of the process. Maio also works with Bookpros’ corporate industry partners to continually enrich the opportunities available for our authors.
Previously, Maio held management positions with several leading corporations, including a print-brokerage firm. In each of his positions, he set new corporate records in customer satisfaction and cultivated valuable relationships with both national and global vendors. His contacts and experience allow BookPros’ books to meet or exceed the quality of traditional publishing houses.
Breanna Rollings
Director of Client Development
brollings@bookpros.com
As the director of client development, Breanna Rollings is responsible for discovering which authors will be a good match for BookPros’ exacting standards. In addition to introducing new clients to the publishing and promotion process, she helps plan initial media strategies for BookPros authors with our publicity corporate partners. She is the main contact until an author is formally accepted as a client, when she then turns their book over to a client services coordinator.
Rollings joins BookPros from a leading educational publisher, PRO-ED Inc., where she served as a senior marketing assistant. She developed her discerning eye for talent while coordinating event planning for industry trade shows and producing marketing collateral. She holds a BA in English with a minor in Spanish from Southwestern University.
Cody Goehring
Client Development Coordinator
cgoehring@bookpros.com
Cody Goehring first joined BookPros to direct one of the publishing imprints. Then, after collaborating with Phenix & Phenix on a state-wide promotional campaign for Texas Judicial Cookbook, his media savvy led to a new career as a P&P publicist. At P&P, he managed literary publicity campaigns across a variety of genres with the same tenacity that made his past projects so successful. As a client development coordinator, Goehring is a potential client’s first contact, and he guides them through the entire submission phase. His broad experience across both the publishing and publicity fields makes him an invaluable source of information for authors new to the industry.
In addition to a BS in public relations from the University of Texas, Goehring also gained PR experience at an Austin-based public relations firm, Pierpont Communications. There, his responsibilities ranged from special events management to media relations and strategic planning.
Sarah Boulden
Director of Publishing Services
sboulden@bookpros.com
Sarah Boulden began her career at BookPros as a publishing coordinator, where she facilitated internal publishing processes. As she began to interact more with clients, it was clear her talents would make her an excellent client services coordinator. Her leadership skills then recommended her to become the publishing services supervisor and eventually the director of publishing services. In her new position, Boulden has many of the same responsibilities as a client services coordinator in guiding clients through the editing, design, print and publishing stages of their project. However, the majority of her time is spent overseeing the publishing and production department and developing and implementing new publishing options. She is also the primary contact for distributors and vendors.
Prior to joining BookPros, Boulden was an office manager at Eastside Community Connection. She has also participated in event-planning activities for the Children's Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas. She earned a BA in English, a BS in communication studies, and a minor in business at the University of Texas at Austin.
Peggy Keefe
Senior Client Services Coordinator
pkeefe@bookpros.com
During her time at BookPros, Peggy Keefe’s work in a variety of departments has given her intimate knowledge of every step of the publishing process. Initially her role as client services coordinator entailed answering client questions and introducing them to each stage of book production. Since then the role has expanded to become more hands-on as Keefe actively manages clients’ books through every step of the publishing process. In addition to project management, her new role includes market research, keeping abreast of industry development and helping authors explore and develop ideas for their projects.
Keefe is also the current internship coordinator, overseeing the committee to recruit and interview new interns interested in the publishing industry. She earned a BS in advertising and a business minor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Anne Burnham
Client Services Coordinator
aburnham@bookpros.com
Anne Burnham joined BookPros as an editor, where her responsibilities included auditing other editors’ work, editing internal documents, and performing content reviews. These varied duties put her in touch with many departments, giving her a broad understanding of the company’s different functions. In her new role as a client services coordinator, Burnham works closely with authors to guide them through the entire publishing process. Her duties include client relations, project management, keeping abreast of industry development and actively helping authors explore and develop ideas for their projects.
Burnham graduated with a BS in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. In her previous job as a flight controller in mission control at NASA, she performed technical writing and edited documents for space station and space shuttle handbooks. She has volunteer experience as a tutor of English and history at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Neil Smith
Client Services Coordinator
nsmith@bookpros.com
Neil Smith joined the BookPros team as an assistant in the printing and publishing departments. His exemplary research skills and communication with vendors recommended him to a position in the publishing department. As a Client Services Coordinator, he guides and assists authors through every stage of the publishing process, managing the editing, design, and publishing processes for each title. In addition to client relations and project management, this includes keeping abreast of industry development and actively helping authors explore and develop ideas for their projects.
Smith worked for the Texas Senate as an Assistant Sergeant at Arms and as an intern for the National Emergency Grant program where he helped distribute funds to refugees displaced by Hurricane Katrina. He earned a BA from the University of Texas at Austin in the Plan II Honors Program.
Kristen Dockray
Editor
kdockray@bookpros.com
As an editor, Kristen Dockray’s primary role is providing editorial support for the BookPros design department. This includes editing internal company documents, performing content reviews, auditing other editors' work and copyediting manuscripts. Her secondary responsibilities include assisting with layouts, writing articles for various company publications and other miscellaneous editing projects.
Dockray has been writing and editing for various newsletters and literary magazines for many years and received awards for her creative writing throughout her academic career. She earned a BA in English and minor in biology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Our Corporate Partners at MSB Media Group, LLC
Liz Groh
Director of Marketing
lgroh@msbmedia.com
With previous experience as both a publicist and a project coordinator, Liz Groh has developed a keen understanding for what attracts both clients and vendors. As marketing coordinator she oversees the development and execution of company marketing efforts, working closely with every department. Her projects include web site and brochure content and design, planning company presence at industry events and tradeshows, assisting the client development department and a wealth of other projects.
Previously, Groh served in the public affairs office of the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Ghana. She earned a BA in journalism with a history minor from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. As an undergraduate, Groh was news editor for the university newspaper, the Baylor Lariat.
Monica Hollmann
Graphic Designer
mhollmann@msbmedia.com
Monica Hollmann started as an assistant and was promoted to design coordinator, where she oversaw the design process for all client and internal work for BookPros. Her graphic design talent proved indispensable, and she was subsequently named sole designer for all MSB Media Group’s marketing materials. She develops and executes the designs for all catalogs, client handbooks, brochures, event publications and a variety of other projects. Her expertise and discerning eye mean she is also frequently consulted for other departmental design projects.
Hollmann’s previous experience includes graphic design work for the Austin Toros and three other sister NBA developmental teams. She earned a BFA in communication design from Texas State University in San Marcos.
Madelyn Roberts
Corporate Accountant
mroberts@msbmedia.com
Madelyn Roberts handles all internal accounting responsibilities for the company. This includes establishing and maintaining new client accounts, handling accounts payable and receivable for the company and securing publisher payments.
Roberts graduated Cum Laude from the University of Utah with a BS in psychology and a minor in business. She gained experience developing and managing operations and accounting activities for various firms before joining the MSB Media Group team. Along with her two sisters, she also developed and launched Shy Girl Designs, an online boutique of children’s accessories.
Stephanie Rongey
Accounting Assistant/Bookkeeper
srongey@msbmedia.com
Stephanie Rongey joined BookPros as an administrative assistant. Her skills in organization and record keeping were quickly appreciated, and she was promoted to accounting assistant and bookkeeper. She directly assists the accountant, handling most of the external accounting relationships, including receiving payments, cataloguing and ordering supplies, invoicing, and all bookkeeping.
Rongey is a certified paralegal and before joining MSB Media Group owned and operated a private day care.
Diana Odom
Administrative Assistant
dodom@msbmedia.com
Diana Odom oversees the administrative duties that keep MSB Media Group operating smoothly on a daily basis. Among her daily tasks are processing information requests from potential clients, filing, mailing and accounting assistance. She also provides translation services for our Spanish-speaking clients.
In her hometown of Bogota, Colombia, Odom did receptionist work for various companies and worked as a sales representative for cosmetic and clothing stores. She moved to the United States in 2002.
Our Corporate Partners at Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, Inc.
Rusty Shelton
Managing Director
rshelton@phenixpublicity.com
Since joining Phenix & Phenix nearly six years ago, Rusty Shelton has partnered with some of the nation’s top publishing houses and best-selling authors to create award-winning literary publicity campaigns. Rusty works to customize publicity campaigns to meet the unique needs of each project and offers guidance about the role media relations will play in the overall promotion efforts for books. Bantam Dell, FSG, St. Martin’s Press, Tor / Forge Books, Zondervan, and Thomas Nelson are all publishers with whom Rusty has developed relationships on P&P’s behalf, as well as several boutique publishing houses representing unique literary talent.
As managing director, Rusty leads efforts in new business development, traveling to conferences and conventions and speaking to writer's groups about literary publicity. He is featured as a faculty member at an annual publishing course offered by Harvard University's Department of Continuing Education. In 2007, he developed a media training program for The Writer’s League of Texas and coordinated national publicity efforts for the Texas Book Festival. Rusty holds a BA in corporate communication from the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a member of the Texas Exes Young Alumni Committee.
Stephanie Mayabb
Media Relations Manager
smayabb@phenixpublicity.com
As media relations manager, Stephanie Mayabb provides strategic leadership to the publicity team, overseeing client services and directing national media relations efforts. She has placed her clients in over 1000 media appearances during her publicity career at Phenix & Phenix. These include The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Shape, Cosmopolitan, Modern Bride, Publishers Weekly, “The Montel Williams Show,” CNN “Saturday Night,” ABC “Primetime Live,” ESPN Radio and NPR. With more than six years of experience in the public relations field, Stephanie has worked with seasoned, best-selling authors as well as little-known writers with breakout potential. As a result, she has developed relationships with some of the top lifestyle editors and producers in the country.
In Austin, Mayabb is a member of the Association for Women in Communications, as well as a volunteer for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. She is an active member of Austin’s local cycling community, and was a competitor and publicist for the national women’s mountain bike team, Cannondale/Mtbchick. She holds a BA in journalism from Texas A&M University.
Amy Currie
Senior Publicist
acurrie@phenixpublicity.com
Joining the Phenix & Phenix publicity team in 2005, Amy Currie manages national media campaigns for authors in a variety of genres, with exceptional success in business, financial, sci-fi, and pop culture media markets. Some of her top media bookings include Money magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, Air America Radio, “The Mancow Show,” Dow Jones' Marketwatch, Oprah & Friends Radio and Martha Stewart Living Radio.
Currie holds a BA in journalism and a BS in radio-television-film from the University of Texas at Austin and has developed relationships with some of the nation’s top radio show producers. During her education, Currie served on both the commercial production and news production teams at Austin’s CBS affiliate, KEYE-TV, and also served as an advertisement coordinator for Cinematexas International Short Film Festival.
Tolly Moseley
Senior Publicist
tmoseley@phenixpublicity.com
A current contributor to Austin’s Rare Magazine and The Onion AV Club, Tolly Moseley brings her strong background in journalism to Phenix & Phenix, where she executes national media campaigns. She has worked with top fiction, true crime and lifestyle titles, earning her clients bookings in The Chicago Tribune, The New York Daily News, the Costco Connection (circulation more than 6 million), with Wireless Flash News Service, and on “The Mancow Show,” Oprah & Friends Radio and Fox and CBS television affiliates.
Prior to joining P&P, Moseley was a staff writer and editorial assistant for Sactown Magazine in Sacramento, Calif., where she wrote a monthly restaurant column, did party and event reporting, contributed story ideas and edited content. She holds a BA in English from Southwestern University and a master’s in English Literature from the University of California. She is a member of Freelance Austin and a volunteer for West Austin Caregivers.
Amber Childres
Publicist
achildres@phenixpublicity.com
A former contributor and editorial assistant at Austin’s local 512 Magazine, Amber Childres now manages national media campaigns for authors in a variety of genres at Phenix & Phenix. Most notably, Amber has led successful media campaigns for humor books, children’s books and animal enthusiast books, earning her prominent bookings in Dallas Morning News, Newsday, The Chicago Tribune, The Star-Ledger, Boston Globe, Associated Press, NPR, Playboy Radio and “Daytime,” a nationally syndicated TV talk show.
Amber also serves as Phenix & Phenix’s Online Video PR Campaign coordinator and producer of ShelfLife.TV, overseeing the preparation, production and distribution of author videos throughout the web.
Amber holds a B.A. in journalism and a minor in Hispanic studies from the University of Texas at Austin. During her education she was a reporter and copyeditor for The Daily Texan and a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity
Shelby Sledge
Publicist
ssledge@phenixpublicity.com
Shelby Sledge comes to Phenix & Phenix with more than four years of experience in the public relations industry. She now manages national media campaigns for authors in a variety of genres, demonstrating particular success with fiction and spiritual titles. Some of her top bookings include Army News Service, Fox News (Austin), Better TV, El Paso Times and Sirius’ “Larry and Lorri Morning Show.”
Before joining the P&P team, Shelby owned and operated Vivid Tidings, a company that offered public relations and writing services to various businesses including Advanced Insulation of Texas and Lumatec Industries. Under Sledge’s direction, Lumatec’s retail line received national media attention including a feature in Parenting magazine and several top daily newspapers. Sledge shares her PR industry expertise in a monthly column for Identity Marketing Magazine called “Make Your Point,” which focuses on communications in business and the promotional products industry.
Sledge holds a BA in public relations from Texas Tech University. During her undergraduate education, she led a student campaign for literary awareness in conjunction with the Lubbock Area Coalition for Literacy. Here in Austin, she is a member of the Association for Women in Communications.
Katie Andrews
Project Consultant
kandrews@phenixpublicity.com
Katie Andrews originally joined Phenix & Phenix as a client development coordinator. Now, as a project consultant, Andrews works closely with authors, publishers and literary agents, guiding them through the early stages of book publicity. She also lends her creativity to the company’s various marketing initiatives.
Andrews holds a BA in English with a minor in informational technology from the University of Texas at Austin. While at UT, she wrote for Celebrate Austin and Your Address magazines, and was a weekly columnist for her hometown’s newspaper, the Burkburnett Informer-Star, located just outside of Wichita Falls, Texas.
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