About Us
Marika Flatt
Flatt
launched PR by the Book, LLC in 2002, combining her love of the media and
public relations. After garnering experience with her own cable television
show, her college newspaper and TV station, and the NBC affiliate in Dallas,
Flatt spent seven years with an Austin-based book publicity firm. She was
the director of the publisher services division, managing key publicity
campaigns and serving as the company’s spokesperson. Flatt is a regular
speaker at conferences around the country, educating audiences on topics
related to publicity and overall promotion tactics.
Flatt was awarded a 2004 Gold Bulldog Award for her publicity campaign for Revolve: The Complete New Testament (a Bible for teen girls that looks like a fashion magazine). The award, given by Infocom Group, is for a publicity campaign that she orchestrated on behalf of Nelson Bibles (a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers). This publicity campaign was key in making Revolve the best-selling Bible for 2003 after exposure in over 700 media outlets.
In 2003-2004, Flatt served as the president of the Austin chapter of the Association for Women in Communications. Flatt is the recipient of the 2005 Austin Public Relations Society of America Outstanding Mentor Award, the 2002 Anne D. Robinson Creative Initiative Award and was a nominee for the 2004 "Profiles in Power" award. A cum laude graduate of Texas A&M University and a triathlete, she lives Round Rock, Texas.
Doug Flatt
Co-owner 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.
Flatt has over 15 years of experience with his family's business, Flatt Stationers, handling various aspects of business from sales, marketing, merchandising and operations. He is currently still involved with the business.
Flatt has a degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University. He lives with his wife and three children in Round Rock, Texas.
Elaine Krackau
As an undergraduate,
Elaine Krackau wrote for the University Star, reported for the
university's Channel 23 News and worked as a DJ for KTSW-FM. Upon graduation,
she began her communications career
as the head audio technician for KXAN-TV,
the NBC affiliate in Austin. In this role, she supervised the audio board
and recorded in-studio interviews for the top-rated evening newscast.
Elaine was later at a literary publicity firm for five years as a publicist and the media relations manager. There, she managed more than 70 national media campaigns and was named Publicist of the Year in 2002.
Elaine then joined PR by the Book as a publicist, where she manages national media campaigns. Her previous experience also includes media relations work for Austin Musical Theatre and an independent film. Elaine has worked with media outlets ranging from The Early Show and Cosmopolitan, to Fox News and Family Circle.
Elaine holds a B.A. in mass communication cum laude from Texas State University . She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and two sons.
Jordan Bucher
Prior to joining PR by the Book in November 2006, Jordan Bucher lived in New York City where she worked in publishing for seven years. She started her career on the editorial side at Penguin Putnam, where she worked on such nonfiction titles as The New York Times bestsellers The Darwin Awards by Wendy Northcutt and Oh, the Things I Know! by Al Franken, and such fiction titles as Bad Boy by The New York Times bestselling Olivia Goldsmith.
As a publicist, Jordan worked at Columbia University Press and, later, Oxford University Press, quickly moving up the ranks to her most recent Senior level position. Her most successful campaigns include those for former New England Journal of Medicine Editor-in-Chief Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer's On the Take, which appeared on the NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, 20/20, NPR, and in The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Time, among other publications; and for Dr. John-Peter Pham's Heirs of the Fisherman, for which Jordan secured his position as a CBS papal commentator, and in the process, obtained interviews on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, NPR and most national print media outlets. She is a graduate of Carleton College and The Denver Publishing Institute. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and son.
Babs Chandrasoma
Babs Chandrasoma
joined PR by the Book in 2006 after 21 years in the corporate world.
Babs is currently the campaign manager for PR by the Book's Constant Connections
Program, executing strategy for each of these clients. In addition,
she works alongside the other campaign managers on various accounts.
She resides in Austin, TX with her husband and 3 children.