Our Team
Angela Johnson, CEO & C0-Founder
Angela Johnson is a teacher, educational consultant, writer, and editor. She has over 15 years experience working with students from emergent learners through college. When she left the classroom she designed and presented curriculum for several educational publishers. It was in this role she fell in love with publishing and developing content for children. Before starting Sunday Dinner Publishing she worked as a Children’s Book Acquisition Editor; a role that allowed her to merge her love of stories and publishing.
Seth Rogers, Editor in chief & C0-Founder
Seth Rogers was born and raised in the Finger Lakes region of New York. After obtaining his bachelors degree at SUNY Cortland, he moved to New York City where he taught elementary school for 9 years. In 2015, he moved to Southern California and entered the world of educational publishing. Seth’s primary editorial interest has been developing literature for young readers. Seth brings his love of fantasy and sci-fi in all of its forms to Sunday Dinner Publishing.
Nahtyka Jolly, Communications Consultant
Nahtyka Jolly is an award-winning Communications Specialist with a knack for storytelling. After receiving her Bachelor's in English, Nahtyka centered her career on sharing stories that led to genuine connections between brands and their audiences - inevitably leading her to book publishing! When she's not developing a new children's book, she spends her time traveling, exploring new restaurants, and running the Thickerplots Book Club.
Kevin Pham, Graphic Designer
Kevin Pham has been working in the book publishing world since 2014. He loved drawing dragons and robots growing up, but up never thought it was a viable career path for him until he started exploring different majors in college. And the rest is history. He graduated from California State University Fullerton with a B.A. in Illustration in 2012. In his free time, he enjoys aquascaping, Magic: The Gathering, and playing RPG (Role-playing games) including the multi-massive online type.
Neva Talladen, Editor
Neva Talladen is an editor, writer, and founder of Otherwordy Editing Services. Her goal is to work with underrepresented and marginalized voices and mission-based businesses on developing and publishing their stories into their best and most authentic form.
Authors & Illustrators
Shaina A. Nez is a Diné mother, writer, and doctoral student. She is Táchii’nii born for Áshįįhi. Shaina has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction and her work has appeared in The Massachusetts Review, Yellow Medicine Review, Nonwhite and Woman: 131 Micro Essays on Being in the World from Woodhall Press, Chapter House Magazine, and Abalone Mountain Press. She is an alum of Tin House and a recipient of the 2021 Open Door Career Advancement Grants for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) women writers.
Jenna Mayzouni is a Palestinian Jordanian American author. Her stories focus on the narratives of Black Indigenous people of color (BIPOC), immigrants, and trauma, with a keen interest in intrapersonal family dynamics. Jenna majored in International Studies and minored in English literature, focusing on immigration issues and women’s rights. Her work has been featured in Women’s Republic and AnimeFem. Website: https://jmayzouni23.wixsite.com/jennamayzouni1
Leah Nicole Whitcomb is a writer, medium, and interdisciplinary artist from central Mississippi. She holds a BA in communication studies and co-hosts the Hoodoo Plant Mamas podcast. Her work has been featured in Root Work Journal, The Rumpus, An Injustice! Mag, and elsewhere. Leah is currently working on her debut memoir exploring purity culture in the Bible Belt as well as a young adult romance series.
Website: Leah Whitcomb
Author of the Parker Peterzack series
Angel Tate has been creating stories since she was a kid in Chicago. The author/illustrator studied English Literature in college and found her passion for children’s books after having children of her own. “Kids are so inquisitive and thirsty for knowledge. I love how they react to books. It’s so pure and beautiful.”
Akanksha Aurora is a Los Angeles-based writer and comedian from Mumbai, India. From complex trauma and assimilation to dating and neurotic machinations, Akanksha’s writing attempts to bring light and levity to all dimensions of the young immigrant experience. Her varied writing portfolio includes preschool programming for Disney and Moonbug, comedy podcast reviews for Vulture, and international stand-up performances. When she’s not writing, Akanksha produces a monthly arts showcase featuring performers from marginalized communities, can be found on TikTok making Bollywood-style GRWM videos and working on her creative nonfiction collection, Manic Pixie Ethnic Girl. Website: www.akanksha.squarespace.com
Jenise Miller is an Afro-Panamanian poet, writer, and urban planner from Compton, California. She is a California Arts Council Artist Fellow, a recent PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow, and a Tin House alumna. Jenise is a Pushcart-nominated poet, and the author of the poetry chapbook, "The Blvd." Her writing can be found in the Acentos Review, Boom California, Los Angeles Review of Books, Los Angeles Times, and the forthcoming essay anthology, Writing the Golden State: The New Literary Terrain of California. Website: http://www.jenisemiller.com/
Shipra Agarwal is a doctor-turned-author who studied creative writing at Harvard. An assistant fiction editor at Identity Theory, Shipra’s stories are based in the small towns of India, similar to the one she grew up in. Her work has appeared in Witness Magazine, FlashFlood, and Janus Literary. Shipra’s WIP, That Thing We Don’t Talk About, was shortlisted for the First Pages Prize, 2022. When she is not writing, Shipra hosts the interview series, Yatra, which documents the varied journeys of people of color in the literary world. Website: www.shipraagarwal.com
Jae Carey discovered auto-ethnography and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's Dictee, and became fascinated with memoir writing outside the box. As a trans-national and trans-racial adoptee, Jae is inspired by questions of roots, grief, and mythology. Her work as a birth/death doula has been a source of practice, inspiration, and insight in her writing and she feels most at home with words (and worlds) that make space for the unspeakable. Website: https://www.greenwooddoula.com/
Illustrator of Sunday Dinner
Montaysia Yuneek Sims is an illustrator residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her whimsical illustrations create a feeling of joy and peace. As an Art Activist Montaysia creates from a place of community and encouragement. Besides children’s books, Montaysia enjoys drawing for therapy and runs an art shop. Besides all things art, she loves matcha, her dog Ahsoka, and cartoons!
Author of When You Were in my Belly
Kara M. Liu was a teacher for nine years, including five years teaching in international schools in Hong Kong and China. She received a Masters in Reading Education and later went on to study International Education with a concentration in technology integration. Since the arrival of her daughter, she has been inspired to write books for her to capture moments spent together. "My goal in writing this book is to encourage families to share the story of the excitement that they felt in anticipation of meeting their child. I want children to know how much they are loved from the very beginning."
Illustrator of the Parker Peterzak series
Brittany Moodie is a Caribbean American illustrator, character designer, and visual storyteller living in New York City. Her art style specializes in expressionist linework rendered in warm color palettes. Her work is inspired by her passion for animation, video games, fashion, and music.
Illustrator of When You Were in my Belly
Hanji Kim an Illustrator and designer. She currently works as a freelance character designer and game designer. She’s illustrated several children’s books over the past few years and loves using Adobe photoshop and Illustrator to render digital drawings.
Illustrator of the We’re Off to Find… series
Cory Reid is an author, illustrator and designer with almost 20 years, working in the creative industry. Reid is passionate about character design and loves creating worlds for them to inhabit. He has several titles published in the UK market and is represented by Kids Corner.