Here are The Troy Book Makers, we pride ourselves on our great customer relations. If you are in the area we encourage you to set up and appointment to drop by our office, but if you are miles away you can meet our staff virtually below.
Susan Novotny has been selling books for over 35 years. She is the owner of the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, The Little Book House, and Market Block Books in Troy, NY. Before owning an independent books store she worked for Simon & Schuster, where she peddled books of all natures. She recently founded Staff Picks Press — a small press with a mission to publish books of fiction with national appeal.
Eric Wilska owns independent bookstore The Bookloft in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and Found, a used bookstore in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts that specializes in antiquarian and hard to find books, as well as first editions. He has been a bookstore owner for over 35 years.
Melissa Batalin has always been an avid reader — as a young girl, she would often end up reading bedtime stories to her parents. Eventually, her love of art and design combined with her passion for reading led her to book design. Although there were many nay-sayers who declared that books were dead, she soldiered on. She received her degree in Electronic Media, Arts and Communication with concentrations in Digital Art and Communication Design from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Melissa has been with The Troy Book Makers since its founding in 2006 – she meets with clients, designs books, covers, websites, and promotional materials as well as coordinates book production.
Jessika Hazelton has been described as “only peaceful when she reads.” She graduated Emerson College in 2010, with a BFA in writing and publishing and has since settled down in Troy. After graduating she spent a year and a half trying to explain to affable relatives what she wanted to be when she grew up (“I want to, you know… make books… and stuff.”), while working in one job or another and forcing her typesetting skills on her employers as she made posters, handouts, and manuals. Then she found The Troy Book Makers—who are kind enough to allow her to, you know… make books… and stuff. As The Troy Book Makers newest Author Liaison, Jessica works directly with authors from the start of their project to the finish—designing book interiors, covers and promotional materials.
Carolyn Wavrin is a graduate student in SUNY’s Public History program. She spends much of her time at The Troy Book Makers scanning and resetting historic titles that will soon be back in print and available to the general public. Carolyn also handles most of the online orders from TBMbooks.
