Meet the Conner Literary team.

Emily Conner founded Conner Literary in 2015. Before, she worked in the book department at 20th Century Fox—scouting both in NY and LA—and in the editorial and licensing departments at Samuel French Theatrical Publishing. She grew up in Toronto.

Steven Crawford is Senior Literary Executive. He joined in 2022, after previously working in Film & TV developments at 101 Studios and EuropaCorp. Originally from the Outback of Australia, he graduated with a B.A. in Criminology and Screen & Culture Studies from The University of Melbourne before moving to the US to pursue his M.F.A from The American Film Institute Conservatory. To his surprise, he’s been in LA ever since. He spends his free time spoiling his Golden Retriever, making ice cream, and learning Japanese—mainly so he can try to read Harry Potter again in a second language.

Mary Gaule is Literary Executive. She joined in 2023 after spending six years as a book editor at HarperCollins, publishing fiction and nonfiction. Despite growing up and attending college in sunny Southern California, she has an equal appreciation for both dark and depressing stories and uplifting romcoms. Her hobbies include rewatching tv shows, deleting and reinstalling Instagram on her phone, and missing her bicoastal cat Rooney (yes, like Sally). 

Sera Scott is Literary Associate. She joined Conner Literary in 2021, previously working in literary management and in film restoration. She paints, draws, and writes, has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, grew up in Colorado, and goes hiking as often as possible in the hills and canyons of LA, where she lives. She loves a psychological thriller or anything investigative.

Grace Cartwright is Literary Associate. She joined Conner Literary in 2023 after previously working six years in publicity. An LA native who escaped to New York for college, she holds a BA in Film Studies from Columbia University. Her favorite genres are romance, YA and fantasy, but if you make her read a horror/thriller, it'll have to be during the day! 

Anna Phelan is Podcast Scout. She joined Conner Literary as a consultant in November 2019. She holds a B.A. in English Literature and French from Trinity College Dublin. She works remotely from Ireland for TED, overseeing the marketing for their podcasts, and spends her mornings hunting for new audio treasures and taking a lot of long, rainy bike rides. Her other obsessions include reading fiction, swimming, and eating all the food.

Lakota Rich is Literary Assistant. She joined Conner Literary in 2020 as an intern while studying in the Simon Fraser University’s Master of Publishing program in Vancouver, Canada. She is a dual US and Canadian citizen. She loves cats and plants and spends her free time knitting or crocheting and learning how to skateboard.

Ryan Benson is Literary Assistant. She joined Conner Literary in 2022, after graduating from Yale with a B.A. in English Literature. She spends her free time learning to surf and collecting old cookbooks.

Ottavia Brey is Literary Assistant. They joined Conner Literary in 2022, after graduating from Columbia University with a Masters in Literary Translation. They spend their free time biking, eating pasta, and playing with their dog, Birthday.