Meet the Team!
Our team of professionals has deep and varied experience in children’s publishing. No other independent book production company has as much specific knowledge in children’s publishing or focuses so completely on children’s books. Making beautiful, award-winning children’s books is our specialty. It’s all we do, and we do it best.
Aimee Jackson, Owner and Editorial Director
Aimee Jackson is an accomplished children’s book editor and publishing professional with more than 20 years experience in trade publishing. She has directed, edited, and developed many best-selling and award-winning titles and series. She was Editorial Director for Rising Moon Books and NorthWord Books (both imprints now owned by Cooper Square), Senior Editor for Sleeping Bear Press, and Acquisitions Manager for Free Spirit Publishing. She brings her expertise and successful career to Book Bridge Press to give clients a direct perspective on the development of quality books for children. Her experience gives her a unique view on the changing dynamics of book publishing and marketing, and the benefits that now exist for those who choose to publish as independent authors.
Helga Thielen , Print Production Manager
Helga Thielen has vast experience in print production and project management. In her early career, she was a production artist and graphic designer for newspaper and magazine and a production manager for an advertising agency. Her publishing background includes project managing foreign-language co-editions for more than twenty international publishers and twenty-six languages. She has an MA in art history, a BA in applied design, and has worked in art galleries and museums. Her love for art, theater, and music extend into her thoughtful approach to producing beautiful children’s books of lasting value.
Lois Rainwater, Art Director and Designer
Lois Rainwater has been art directing and designing children’s books for more than fifteen years. She has produced award-winning books for many publishers in the trade and educational markets. Prior to working in book publishing, Lois worked in the advertising and graphic design industry for twenty years, owning and maintaining a highly successful design studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. Lois has a BS in Advertising Design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and studied fine art at Ohio State University. In her spare time she paints, crafts, and cooks in the always-blooming Arizona desert.
Joe Fahey, Art Director and Designer
Joe Fahey has worked as a production artist, graphic designer and illustrator, and art director for magazine and book publishing, including children’s trade and educational publishing, for thirty years. He has a BA in studio art and art history from the University of Minnesota, and studied art at the Lacoste School for the Arts in Lacoste, France through Sarah Lawrence College. In addition to magazines and books, Joe designs album covers, websites, promotional materials, and concert posters for the Minneapolis music community, which he has strong ties to as a songwriter and musician.
Eric Braun, Development Editor
Eric Braun is an editor and award-winning author. He has written dozens of children’s books and has worked as an editor for twenty years. He is a full-time freelance writer and editor. He has an MFA in fiction and a BA in English literature. When he’s not writing or editing, Eric likes to camp with his sons, ride his bike, follow funny people on Twitter, and watch the Minnesota Twins lose. Again.
Proofreaders and Copyeditors
We have a highly qualified team of professional freelance copyeditors and proofreaders, all of whom have direct experience working in children’s trade and educational publishing.
Illustrators
Our illustrators are uniquely qualified for each project. Each illustrator is a well-published and experienced children's book artist. You can see a bit about our illustration process here:
Printers
At Book Bridge Press, we have developed a special series of relationships with high-quality book printers. Because every client's book is different, we choose the printer that best suits the individual needs for each book. Our process is called PrintActual. With the PrintActual Process, the cost for printing is invoice-based, meaning we do not mark-up or increase the print run as many other publishing companies might do. You pay the actual print invoice price, not one penny more. Learn more about this and other benefits here:
