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In the nearly 6 years that Nicole has worked at Quirk, she has helped to publicize and market all things Quirk — including the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series, William Shakespeare's Star Wars, The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy, and more! She oversees everything from Quirk's books, to its brand, to this here blog. 

If you were stranded on Mars and could only have one book to read, what would it be?

For a book person, this is an impossible question! And I've spent an unnecessary amount of time thinking about this and have devised some criteria:

1) It would be something that I've already read because I'll want to be able to re-read it—who knows how long I'll be stranded there!

2) Said book would have to be something that affected me rather than pure entertainment because I'm presuming that I'm on my own and will have a lot of time with my thoughts.

3) It can't be too dense or esoteric because reading should be enjoyable.

So! In pure Oscar's fashion, the nominees are:

1. Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life
2. Zadie Smith's White Teeth
3. Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals

And the winner is: Zadie Smith's White Teeth because it meets all of the criteria. Plus, it's an epic story about family, friendship, and identity—all things that are important to me and give a lot of opportunity to mull over.  

Tell us about something cool you keep at your desk.

This cute little Adipose stress ball. Adipose are the cutest aliens and they're from one of my all-time favorite episodes of Doctor Who. I mean how can you not love this little blob?

What's your fandom?

Doctor Who! I'm currently eagerly awaiting the new season and think that a Tardis that could take me to 4/15 would be perfect.

I think the history nerd in me is really drawn to time travel. As a kid I was obsessed with Quantum Leap and as an adult Doctor Who has been a fun combination of storytelling and time travel that I really enjoy. And while the Doctor is immortal there is something so incredibly refreshing that he's flawed and human – just like us. AND the writing is fantastic, there's a look back at the past and an imagining of the future, and at the core it's a story about friendship because none of us can go through life alone.

What's an unexpected talent or side effect you've picked up while working at Quirk?

It's funny that Quirk created the Worst Case Scenario series because I feel like that's the unexpected talent I've picked up while working at Quirk. And to clarify, I don't mean that I've become MacGyver and can survive with the string from a yo-yo and a bobby pin! It's more that I tend to envision what could possibly go wrong and then try to make sure to iron out any potential problems ahead of time…

If you were a Quirk book, which one would you be?

My Best Friend's Exorcism! Minnesota Public Radio called the book "Campy. Heartfelt. Horrifying." I'm not saying I'm campy or horrifying but I think that I'm a heartfelt person who would do just about anything for a friend.

Moneka Hewlett is the Vice President of Sales at Quirk. This week she’s killing it overseas at London Book Fair, and we’re here to highlight her awesomeness.

Let's see how she answers our five questions!

Jason Rekulak is the publisher of Quirk Books – and because his debut novel The Impossible Fortress hit bookstores last week, we’ve chosen Jason for this month’s On the Spiral Starcase spotlight.

In his seventeen years at Quirk Books, Jason has acquired and edited a number of Quirk favorites – including Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, and The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben H. Winters. He oversees all of Quirk’s editors and designers, and he’s personally worked on hundreds of books…so let’s see how he answers our five questions!

Find out about our awesome staff at Quirk Books HQ with our new monthly blog series, On the Spiral Staircase!

We're showing you an inside look at Quirk Books—and more importantly, a look at the folks who help bring the books you love to life! Each month we'll ask a different staff member the same five questions so you can learn more about Quirk. There's no better place to start the series than with the man who started it all. Allons-y!

Suzanne asks if the inmates are going to get second dinner like hobbits, Leanne and Angie reference both To Kill a Mockingbird and The Hunger Games as things heat up at Litchfield, and Red reads aloud from Bird by Bird – a book that her nemesis Judy King is seen reading earlier in the season. To celebrate the end of our Orange is the New Black marathon, here are the books we spotted the inmates and guards of Litchfield reading in episodes nine through thirteen.

We love Orange is the New Black, and the ladies of Litchfield love reading just as much as we do. Rather than make you squint and pause watching to see all the books they're reading, we rounded them all up in a two-part series for you.

In Episode One of the newest season of Orange is the New Black, Yoga Jones sings Nick Hornby’s praises, sharing with Chapman how much she loved High Fidelity. To celebrate the return of our favorite Netflix drama, we at Quirk books are reading along with the Litchfield inmates. Here’s a dive into the books we spotted in the first four episodes. 

Funny Girl by Nick Hornby