An Interview with Katie McKee, Associate Director of Publicity at Putnam

Jackie and I met Katie McKee when she reached out to offer us our first ever ARCs as book reviewers. She was the publicist for Hum if You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais and she unknowingly set us up to befriend one of our favorite authors, who would later become our first in-person interview!

As the Associate Director of Publicity at Putnam, she’s worked on over 100 New York Times bestsellers and has worked with an impressive roster of authors including John Sandford, Kiley Reid, Annabel Monaghan, Steven Rowley, Bianca Marais, Mia Sosa, Robert Jones, Jr., Chloe Benjamin, Jan Karon, and many others!

Needless to say, Katie is a superstar in our books. This interview with Katie McKee, is our first profile of a publishing industry insider! It was so fun to learn more about her job, her favorite books, and what inspired her to make the Philly suburbs her home.

Below, you’ll find the surprising way Katie entered the publishing industry, her local favorites (I ADORE every restaurant she recommended), and her favorite books.

Article Contents

Katie McKee on Philadelphia

What is your connection to the Philly area?

My family moved to Philadelphia in 2011 – we wanted to be close to New York, the Poconos, family, and friends. Philadelphia fit the bill!

What is your favorite restaurant in the Philly area?

I would eat sushi for every meal, if I could! I really love Double Knot in the city and Osushi and Herosame out in the ‘burbs.

What is your favorite hidden gem in the area?

I’m not sure it’s hidden, but our ideal night out is seeing a show at the Ardmore Music Hall. If we’re talking bookstores, Main Point Books in Wayne is a gem and full of incredibly smart, passionate booksellers.

What is your favorite memory of this area?

When we first moved to the area, my daughter (who was three at the time) and I went to a festival in Narberth and stumbled into Character Development, a beautifully curated children’s bookstore. It’s such a special place and we were frequent customers for many years when she was younger.

What do you love most about the Philly area?

Besides the wonderful friends and community we’ve made, we love that it’s easy to get anywhere from here. We’re 1.5 hours to the mountains, 1.15 hours to New York, and 20 minutes to the airport.

Katie McKee on Reading

What sparked your love of reading?

I grew up in a family of big readers. Both of my childhood bookstores (Borders and A Novel Idea in Tulsa, OK) are now sadly closed, but I spent countless hours perusing their shelves, often with my parents and siblings scattered nearby.

What are some of your favorite reads?

This is always the hardest question! I’ll go with recent favorites: THIS MUST BE THE PLACE by Maggie O’Farrell, OPEN WATER by Caleb Azumah Nelson, and CLAP WHEN YOU LAND by Elizabeth Acevedo.

What is the last book you read and love?

I’ve been reading mostly for work recently, so it has to be IT’S A LOVE STORY by Annabel Monaghan (out in late May). Every year, Annabel has me saying “This is her best yet!” It’s such a pleasure watching an author grow book over book, and Annabel also happens to be an absolute delight to work with.

Where is your favorite place to read?

In France by the pool, with my husband and daughter reading next to me. Oh, you didn’t mean in my daydreams? In a cozy chair in my family room then!

What’s on your nightstand?

Nadia Alawa, the owner of Mavey Books in Ardmore, hand-sold THE HEART IS A STAR by Megan Rogers to me last week, so that’s next up on my list! I’m reading ORBITAL by Samantha Harvey with my book club and I also still need to read JAMES by Percival Everett (TREES was a recent favorite). I’m taking GOOD MATERIAL by Dolly Alderton and BACK AFTER THIS by Linda Holmes on a quick spring break trip with my daughter next month.

Katie McKee on Her Job

What inspired you to work in publishing?

I planned to go to law school after graduating, but I met a book publicist my senior year of college who encouraged me to look at publishing as a possible career path. She passed my resume around and ultimately helped me land the publicity assistant job at Putnam in 2004.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I’m lucky to say that there are many ‘favorite parts:’ ushering debut authors into the world, confirming a great media hit, lining up a big book tour, and landing on the bestseller list. But 20 years in, the day-to-day joy really comes from a fun meeting with a media contact-turned-friend, listening to editors pitch a book they’re excited about, watching a colleague land their first big media hit, or maybe just receiving a nice note from an author or bookseller.

What is the biggest challenge you face?

Every book publicist faces this challenge: a significant increase in books being published and a constantly shifting media landscape, with limited space for book coverage. Authors, your publicists are battling for you out there!

What is the most surprising thing about the publishing industry?

There are so many spokes on the wheel of book publishing. No book is published by one editor, one publicist, or one marketer – hundreds of incredibly talented, book-loving people touch a book before it lands on the shelf. Oh, and we don’t read all day, sadly!

Katie McKee on the Great Coffee/Tea Debate

And most importantly, coffee or tea? Tell me your go-to order!

Coffee! I’m an easy “milk and sugar” kind of girl, but I wouldn’t turn down a vanilla latte.

Find Katie McKee’s author’s books on the following list

Best Contemporary Fiction Novels (Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid)
Books Set in the 80s (The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin)
Coming-of-Age Books for Adults (Hum if You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais)
Best Beach Reads of All Time (Guncle by Steven Rowley)
Best Rom-Com Books (Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan)

Epilogue

I love when Katie sends books my way because they are sure to pique my interest! She will forever remain one of my favorite book industry professionals. Have you read any of her author’s books?