Read with us.
Read with us.
Marble Press arose from a collaboration between children’s book industry professionals, parents, and successful entrepreneurs.
Marble Press is our parent company, and it has three subsidiaries: Marble Books, which focuses on picture books, Bulooga Books, which publishes books for our youngest readers, and Taltos Books, which publishes middle-grade and young-adult materials.
In today’s complex world, quality books, and the words and images they contain, are more valuable than ever. Our mission is to bring you books that will inspire your child, books that will challenge their imagination and ignite their curiosity.
We wake up every morning with a mission. We want to publish books that make a difference, books that stand out because of their style and substance. We want books that are honest and diverse, books that offer new perspectives and outside-the-box experiences. Our books will provide a wide range of learning and experiences for our readers.
We chose the Taltos as our logo. The Taltos is a mythical creature, one whose appearance is at first weathered and rough, but who comes to age as a creature with five legs, who wields magical powers, and can fly. Not only does the Taltos transform, but also he takes his young rider through a transformation. Like the Taltos and his young traveler, great books can change readers. We invite you to read these books with us.
Jon Collins-Black has been a speaker, singer, writer, and entrepreneur. Following a successful career as a speaker in the self-help field, Jon became a musical artist and producer of top 40 alternative and indie radio tracks.
After leaving the music business, Jon transitioned to being a web entrepreneur and created several successful internet properties in the career search industry.
After becoming a father of two young children, Jon pivoted once again, this time to authoring children’s books. Two years later, he founded Marble Press with his dear friend Susan Szecsi. Today, Jon is fully immersed in sourcing and developing the highest quality written material for children of all ages. In addition to Marble Press, Jon has also created a national treasure hunt for young adults and adults of all ages. His companion book to that treasure hunt is due out in the fall of 2024.
Susan Szecsi, the Managing Director of Marble Press, co-founded the publishing house with her friend Jon Collins-Black in 2022. Susan’s business and management skills, combined with her artistic vision, have defined the unique style of Marble Press’s publications.
With a classical fine art education and a Master’s degree in English Language and Literature, Susan leverages her diverse background to uncover authentic, child-friendly stories and innovative perspectives on art. She has taught Art and English in Budapest, Sydney and San Francisco. After moving to the USA, Susan started her own illustration and design company, collaborating with traditional publishers, businesses, and private clients.
Susan is passionate about teamwork, dedicated to discovering new literary and artistic talents, and takes immense pride in the achievements of her mentees.
She has been living in the Bay Area, California, with her husband since 2011.
Christine Swedowsky grew up in Germany and is now based in New York. She holds a Master’s Degree in Publishing and has extensive Marketing & Sales experience in both US-and Europe-based publishing houses.
Previously, Christine was Director of International Marketing at Penguin Random House in New York. In 2018, Christine joined the independent translation publisher World Editions as Managing Director, spearheading the company’s market entry into the US.
Christine‘s bookshelves are overflowing with children’s books that her kids have outgrown and she’s convinced that nobody is ever too old for picture books.
Michael Green is the former President and Publisher of Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers / Penguin Random House.
At Philomel he helped redefine the imprint as a commercial force, acquiring and developing 30 New York Times bestselling titles, including several that went all the way to #1. He is most closely associated with The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers, the Ranger’s Apprentice novels by John Flanagan, the Otis the Tractor picture books by Loren Long, the Alex Rider spy novels by Anthony Horowitz, the sports-themed novels of Mike Lupica, and the historical fiction novels of Ruta Sepetys.
As head of Philomel, Michael worked hand in hand with some of the sharpest marketing, publicity, sales, foreign rights, and production teams in the business, broadening his experience with every aspect of a book’s journey to publication and beyond. Most recently he founded GreenHouse Editorial, a freelance editing service. Michael is married to an audiobook producer/director for Hachette Book Group and is a father to one son.
Jodi Keller is a former Senior Editor from Penguin Random House with over twenty years of experience in children’s publishing, editing middle-grade and young adult fiction and fantasy.
During her time at Delacorte Press and Knopf Books for Young Readers, she was fortunate to work with National Bestselling authors Peter Benchley and Julie Schumacher, as well as on award-winning debut novels by Martin Wilson and Margo Rabb. She also edited popular fantasy series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, and assisted on novels by acclaimed writers Philip Pullman, Jerry Spinelli, and Christopher Paul Curtis.
When Jodi is not editing YA manuscripts, she’s busy sharing her love of reading with her teenage twins. They remind her each day how the best books have the power to enlighten, transform, and inspire us.
Bonnie Bader has written 60 books for young people, including 3 books in The Dodo series, and 6 books in the Who Was? series. Earlier in her career, she was an Editor at Scholastic and more recently, she was the Associate Publisher at Penguin Young Readers, where she edited many best-selling series and created the Penguin Young Readers leveled-reading program.
Backing up a bit, Bonnie is a real Native New Yorker! She was born in Queens, attended Forest Hills High School, and SUNY Binghamton, where she double majored in English and Economics. Between her Junior and Senior years in college, Bonnie landed a summer job at Ballantine Books, where she ultimately got her first job. After realizing that she liked working on kids’ books better than adult books, Bonnie embarked on a career in children’s publishing. Along the way, Bonne received a Master of Science in Education, got married and had two beautiful daughters. (And recently added a son-in-law to her family!)
When Bonnie isn’t editing or writing, she visits classrooms to share her love for reading and writing.