Marika Flatt

Marika launched PR by the Book, LLC in 2002, combining her love of the media, public relations and books. Leading up to that, after garnering experience as the host of two cable television shows (The Teen Report & The College Report) in San Antonio, reporting for her college newspaper, producing for her college TV station, and working with NBC-TV in Dallas, Marika spent seven years leading the publicists of an Austin-based book publicity firm. While there, she was the Director of Publisher Services, handling the company’s key publicity campaigns and serving as the company’s spokesperson.

Marika was awarded a Gold Bulldog Award for a publicity campaign, which resulted in exposure in over 700 media outlets. Marika is also the recipient of an Austin Public Relations Society of America Outstanding Mentor Award, an Anne D. Robinson Creative Initiative Award, and a nominee for the “Profiles in Power” Award.

Marika is a past-president of the Austin chapter of the Association for Women in Communications. In 2009, she served as the Advanced Publicity track leader for IBPA’s Publishing University and continues to support the organization each year. Marika is listed on Twitter’s Women in Publishing (#womeninpublishing) and in 2011, was asked to join the selection committee for the Texas Book Festival. Also, she is a board member for an Austin nonprofit, Saint Louise House.

Marika is a regular speaker at conferences around the country, educating audiences on topics related to publicity and promotion tactics. A cum laude graduate of Texas A&M University, Marika is the proud parent of three kids (with husband, Doug, who is Managing Partner).

Doug Flatt

Managing Partner Doug Flatt oversees the business side of PR by the Book, LLC. He handles operations, accounting, IT, database management, and assists with new client communications, among other responsibilities. Doug has more than15 years of experience with his family’s business, Flatt Stationers, Inc., handling various aspects of business from sales, marketing, merchandising and operations. Doug has a degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University. He and his wife, Marika, have three children.

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Stephanie Ridge

During her tenure as a literary publicist, Stephanie (Mayabb) Ridge has secured smart media placements for all kinds of authors – from children’s to true crime, first-timer to bestseller.  She enjoys being on the forefront of generating headlines, and specializes in planting stories.  Whether it’s a New York Times tech reporter or a burgeoning foodie blogger, she provides them with the elements necessary to craft headlines with staying power.  In an age when traditional book reviews are hard to come by, Stephanie works closely with authors to find a variety of placements, often developing timely, original articles for a content-hungry marketplace, accompanying them on tour, and occasionally whipping up a social media campaign to build buzz from the ground floor to the national arena.

Stephanie came to PR by the Book by way of Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists where she served as Manager of Media Relations for three years.  Before joining Austin’s literary scene, she served as Senior Publicist in the publicity department of WaterBrook press, a division of Random House.  Some of her most notable hits include The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Associated Press, Reader’s Digest, Ladies’ Home Journal, Whole Living, iVillage, Huffington Post, CNN, ABC News, Dateline, as well as NPR, SiriusXM, and ESPN radio programs.

Stephanie earned a B.A. in journalism from Texas A&M University. Outside the classroom, she gained experience in various avenues of journalism including: KAMU-TV, a local PBS station; FOX Sports Southwest, where she worked on the sidelines and in the press box at Aggie football and basketball games; as well as DDB Dallas, a leading advertising agency where she served as a broadcast intern.  A self-described Francophile, Stephanie aspires to the French joie de vie; she loves to tinker in her garden, explore stateside wineries, dine al fresco, and coast around Austin a la bicyclette.  When she’s not reading her clients’ works, she’s got her nose in the latest issues of Bon Appetit, Food + Wine, Budget Travel and Travel + Leisure.

Tolly Moseley

Tolly Moseley began her publicity career at a literary publicity firm, where she booked major media outlets, including: CNN “American Morning,” CBS’ “Dr. Phil,” FOX’s “Fox and Friends,” New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Redbook, Real Simple, and more. As a publicist, she worked with books from major publishers, such as: TOR/Forge, St. Martin’s Press, Penguin, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, The Overlook Press, Thomas Nelson, Guideposts Books, and Zondervan.

When she is not publicizing, Tolly is a contributor to several print and online media outlets. These include: Discovery Channel’s two eco-news sites, TreeHugger.com and PlanetGreen.com, as well as HeartlessDoll.com, the feminist/pop culture site of Village Voice. As both a publicist and freelance writer, Tolly regularly works both sides of the media pitch, which benefits her as a publicist and journalist.

Since 2007, Tolly has also hosted an award-winning blog in Austin, Texas: Austin Eavesdropper. In 2010, Tolly and her blog won a Texas Social Media Award from the Austin American-Statesman.

Tolly received her B.A. in English from Southwestern University, where she graduated Cum Laude. She earned her M.A. in Literature from University of California, Davis, in 2007, specializing in Victorian Literature. She is a volunteer with Faith in Action Caregivers, and lives in Austin with her husband and cat, Claudia.

Megan Renart

In 2003, Megan Renart left the northeast, where she had been working for a law firm in New York City, to attend the University of North Carolina–Greensboro, where she received her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. She stayed in North Carolina for a brief time to teach the fourth grade and began freelance editing for a prestigious international magazine.

In 2005, she moved to Austin and started a career in educational publishing: writing and editing academic texts, lessons, and assessments. She also began writing outside academia, with music reviews and band profiles featured in Austin Music Monthly, and a photo published on National Geographic’s Daily Dozen website, which she suspects was due more to her clever caption than the photo itself.

Later, Megan combined her love of books with her love of advocacy to promote authors as a full-time publicist. After cutting her teeth at another literary publicity firm in Austin, Megan joined PR by the Book. She has worked with major national media outlets such as: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, USA Today, Readers Digest, Forbes.com, Psychology Today, TIME, Huffington Post, Woman’s Day, and Woman’s World. Her campaigns have ranged from lifestyle to holiday-themed, from memoirs to illustrated works. Although bitten by the travel bug, Megan is happily ensconced in Austin, where she enjoys the warm sun, cold springs, breakfast tacos, and live music.

Babs Chandrasoma

Babs Chandrasoma joined PR by the Book, LLC in 2006 after 21 years in the corporate world. Babs is the designated online media publicist, executing strategy to find appropriate online media for all PR by the Book clients. Babs also serves as the campaign manager for all of PR by the Book’s Constant Connections campaigns and also oversees the company’s speakers’ bureau. She resides in Austin, TX with her husband and 3 children.
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Tatum Sapinoro

Tatum Sapinoro joined PR by the Book, LLC in June of 2006. Tatum works on PR by the Book’s online publicity team, pitching clients to Internet wires, and she oversees the company’s database. She also assists the campaign managers with various duties, including prepping media lists and handling book mail-outs. Tatum lives in Austin, TX with her husband and three children.

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Jennifer Robenalt

Jennifer is communications professional with over twenty-two years of experience in media relations, media training, publicity, strategic communications and professional writing. Jennifer has worked closely with authors including international best-selling Irish author Lorna Byrne (Angels in My Hair), former press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson Liz Carpenter (Start with a Laugh), Janet Conner (Writing Down Your Soul), Karleen Koen (Through a Glass Darkly), Carrie Contey/Debbie Takikawa (CALMS: A Guide to Calming Your Baby), Jan Bozarth (The Fairy Godmother Academy Series), Scott Von Doviak (Hick Flicks:The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema). Susyn Reeve (The Inspired Life), Giselle Koy (The Modern Muse), Bill Crawford (Democrats/Republicans Do the Dumbest Things), Healing Visions (Katherine Connon), Jana Christy/John Seven (A Child’s Guide to Anarchy) and many more.

Jennifer’s flagship client from 1997-2001 was the Texas Book Festival, an annual event founded and chaired by First Lady Laura Bush. Other notable organizations with which she has worked include Hard Rock Cafe, Writers’ League of Texas, Texas Performing Arts, Girlstart, Paramount Pictures, Texas Writers Month, Convio and AMD, where she headed the executive media training and broadcast programs. Jennifer has secured media coverage for clients in nationally acclaimed media outlets, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, The Hollywood Reporter, Glamour, Good Morning America, Cosmo Girl, CNN, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, TIME, The San Antonio Express-News and National Public Radio. She has written for her industry’s leading publication, PR Week, and her career successes have been published in the Austin Business Journal, The Austin-American Statesman and The Austin Chronicle. Jennifer is also a freelance writer and has had pieces published in Austin Woman Magazine and Austin Monthly. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with honors in Writing, Literature and Publishing with minors in Mass Communications and Philosophy from Emerson College in Boston, MA.