Hispanic Heritage Month — Caren Johnson

Despite the recent changes within the publishing industry and the strong undercurrents of uncertainty and fear filling the American job industry in general, there is still a demand for literature and literary agents. Serving as a liaison between the author and the publishing houses can be a strenuous, tense living and not all are suited for it. Caren Johnson, a Puerto Rican, Jamaican-Chinese mix, the founder of Johnson Literary, however decided to step up the plate after another agent, Peter Rubie, spoke at one of her publishing classes. His lecture invigorated and interested her enough to decide to leave her previous dreams of becoming a writer or editor behind. Johnson offered to intern with Rubie and “then I just never left.”

In the short span of five years, Johnson then opened Johnson Literary in 2007. Although her professional resume may not be riddled with publishing jobs, she contends that her working past does not work against her. In fact, she states that it works in her favor: “it does not count against me that I do not have 20 years of experience. Part of my experience comes from working at Barnes and Noble…I think that was a great help in showing me how many people buy books… Product placement and just showing what kind of endorsements work…just working at Barnes and Noble…you get to see and hear a lot of things, why people like what they read and what they are looking to get out of it, whether it is information or just entertainment.”

Johnson does not necessarily see herself as a hero within the Latino sub-culture of publishing. Rather, she regards herself as someone who will champion books that should be published but were overlooked “because the other girl may not understand it due to a cultural difference.”