Join the EFA for our upcoming panel, Big Five Publishing: An Insider’s Look, where we ask three former/current Big Five Publishing professionals questions about what it’s like to work for/with the Big Five and how to get their attention.
The panelists:
Sydnie Hyams
Sydnie is an artist, writer, and publisher whose work explores the intersection of digital and analog systems, engaging with, and living in, the unstable boundary between the two forms. She is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of GUM, an independent publishing project producing both a digital and print magazine, reflecting her commitment to experimental, accessible, and independent publishing. Additionally, they serve as Publishing Associate and Backlist Manager at Penguin Random House, freelance in book design and production, and are currently writing their debut book, forthcoming from Crop Circle Press in 2027.
Diana Gill
Diana spent more than twenty years as an executive editor in Big5 publishing, editing commercial fiction at Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and HarperCollins Publishers, including running Harper Voyager, the science fiction & fantasy imprint at HarperCollins, for twelve years. Some of the many bestselling and award-winning authors she has discovered or worked with include Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, Susan Dennard, Richard Kadrey, Zen Cho, S. L. Huang, Shelley Parker-Chan, Rita Woods, Katie McGarry, Mary Stewart, Brom, and Genevieve Cogman, among others.
Connolly Bottum
Prior to becoming a freelance editor, I worked at HarperCollins for nearly five years. At the beginning of my time with the company, I edited romance novels for Harlequin Intrigue, Love Inspired, and Love Inspired Suspense before later joining the editorial team for Inkyard Press, a children’s imprint of HarperCollins, which gave me the opportunity to edit many wonderful young adult and middle grade novels. I am proud to say that books I edited have won awards, become Indie Next picks, and been selected for several subscription book boxes, including OwlCrate, The Bookish Box, and Beacon Book Box, among others.