Associate Publisher Joanna Cárdenas has edited critically acclaimed and award-winning books by Celia C. Pérez, Andrea Wang, David Bowles, Jessica Kim, R. Eric Thomas, and many more. Her favorite books across age categories, genres, and formats center joy, creativity, and imagination; explore our roles as global citizens and stewards of nature; celebrate friendship, family, and community; and are often funny. Joanna manages Kokila’s growing Spanish-language picture book list, which includes Mi papi tiene una moto, Amor de pelo, El Proyecto 1619: Nacieron sobre el agua, and more. Joanna also co-founded the Rep Matters Mentor Program and was on the board of Latinx in Publishing. Prior to Kokila, Joanna was Editor at Viking Children’s Books, where she was a Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch honoree. Before that, she was a bookseller. For sporadic book updates, follow her on Twitter: @joannananamc.
Meet the Team
Namrata Tripathi
President and Publisher
Namrata Tripathi is Founder and Publisher of Kokila. Previously, Namrata held editorial positions at HarperCollins, Disney-Hyperion, and Simon and Schuster. She is the editor of New York Times bestsellers Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Vashti Harrison and Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi and Ashley Lukashevsky; the Newbery Honor-winning middle grade novel The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani; and the National Book Award Finalists Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley, Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay, and The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor. Namrata grew up in Afghanistan, India, Canada, Pakistan, Germany, and Poland, and has happily called New York City home for the last twenty-five years. Follow her on Twitter: @Tweetpathi.
Namrata’s Featured Titles
Joanna Cárdenas
Associate Publisher
Joanna’s Featured Titles
Jasmin Rubero
Sr. Art Director
Jasmin Rubero began her publishing career as an intern at Dial, an experience that taught her how graphic design and art are intertwined in children’s books. Her internship turned into a fulfilling full-time position as a design assistant, and she stayed at Dial for seventeen years. During that time, she worked with then Editorial Director Namrata Tripathi, and when Namrata founded the Kokila imprint at Penguin Random House, Jasmin joined the team as Art Director. Kokila’s goal is to bring together an inclusive community and focus on stories and storytellers that have been historically marginalized. Some of the critically acclaimed and bestselling artists Jasmin has worked with over the years include Weshoyot Alvitre, Keturah A. Bobo, Angela Dominguez, Leo Espinosa, Shane W. Evans, Vashti Harrison, Erika Meza, Zeke Peña, Isabel Roxas, and Nikkolas Smith. Visit www.penguin.com/kokila-books.
Zareen Jaffery
Executive Editor
Executive Editor Zareen Jaffery joined Kokila in January 2020, and continues to publish books across age groups. She has worked with a number of New York Times bestselling, award-winning, and critically acclaimed authors, including Ibram X. Kendi, Lupita Nyong’o, Autumn Allen, Aisha Saeed, S.K. Ali, Kristina, Forest, Jenny Han, Mary H.K. Choi, Hena Khan, Lilliam Rivera, Hanna Alkaf, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and Grace K. Shim. She is the founding editor of Salaam Reads, an imprint at Simon & Schuster which launched in 2016 about Muslim children and families. Prior to Simon & Schuster, Zareen worked on commercial teen fiction at HarperCollins Children’s Books and adult fiction and non-fiction at Hyperion books (Walt Disney/ABC). She is the co-founder of Muslims in Publishing, an affinity group for publishing professionals. She is a graduate of New York University, and currently lives in California.
Zareen’s Featured Titles
Sydnee Monday
Editor
Editor Sydnee Monday joined Kokila in May of 2018. They’re attracted to interiority, lyricism, transformation and silliness and are waiting for the perfect cottage-core fairy novel to hit their inbox. Prior to Kokila, she worked at NPR, the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, and Sankofa Bookstore in Washington, D.C. They’re a graduate of Howard University.
Sydnee’s Featured Titles
Asiya Ahmed
Junior Designer
Junior Designer Asiya Ahmed is a Black and South Asian Muslim creative. A graduate with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations, she has a Certificate in Visualization and Design and worked as a graphic designer for higher education and small businesses before joining Kokila. She believes in transforming powerful narratives through literature and design and is passionate about empowering children and young adults, especially those of color, with books that feel like love letters. Follow her on Instagram: @paperbackruins
Jenny Ly
Assistant Editor
Assistant Editor Jenny Ly joined Kokila and Nancy Paulsen Books in September 2023. She previously worked at HarperCollins, W.W. Norton, and was a former bookseller. At Harper, she assisted on books such as Wei Skates On by Olympian Nathan Chen and Lorraine Nam; the Batchelder Award-winner Just a Girl by Lia Levi, translated by Sylvia Notini; and the #1 NYT bestseller Strange Planet: the Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature by Nathan Pyle. Jenny is a Bay Area native and now lives in NY. She is a graduate of Smith College and the Columbia Publishing Course.
Tenisha Anderson-Kenkpen
Publishing Assistant
Publishing Assistant Tenisha Anderson-Kenkpen joined Kokila in October 2023. Before Kokila, Tenisha lent her expertise as a legal industry consultant at Lighthouse Global, worked in advertising sales for Maxim and New York Magazine, co-founded/co-hosted the podcast Speaking of Fashion, and was Founder/Editor of Qlix magazine, an independent art and style publication that garnered global recognition for its unique voice and perspective. A 2023 Fellow of the Los Angeles Review of Books Publishing Workshop, Tenisha holds degrees from the London College of Communication and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The ideals of empowerment and emotional education inherent to children’s and YA literature align with Tenisha’s core values, as does recognizing diverse voices through all storytelling mediums. She currently resides in California. Follow her on Twitter @TKenkpen.