Nicolette Izquierdo hosted our Instagram on July 24th for our weekly #SalaSundays series.
Latinx in Pub (LxP): What do you do?
Nicolette Izquierdo (NI): I'm a Senior Sales Business Development Analyst at Penguin Random House. I create business intelligence tools to leverage our data for leadership and key stakeholders. Creating flexible and time-saving analyses allows us to identify areas of opportunity and drive decision-making across publishing. My day-to-day has me supporting Sales. But I work with various teams, like IT and data groups, for end-to-end product and data visualization development.
LxP: How did you get started?
NI: Definitely in a full circle way! I graduated with an English bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin (hook 'em!). After graduating, I worked in reporting for legal companies and Am Law 100 and international law firms back home in Austin, TX. Initially, I intended to go to law school. But I pivoted as I gained experience managing analytics and business intelligence projects. In my prior roles and with some self-guided learning, I discovered I enjoyed data. So as an English major and lifelong reader and writer, I decided to combine my experience in the data field with my passion and love for books. PRH's mission aligned with my career goals and skill in creating engaging, data-driven insights through visual storytelling. As a bonus, deep down, I knew I wanted to stick to my love for books. Plus, I was already a giant PRH fangirl. So, I perused data roles in publishing and landed a position.
LxP: What do you wish you knew before getting into the industry?
NI: First, about all the career opportunities outside of editorial. There are roles in Sales, Data, IT, and other corporate sectors. If you're trying to break into the industry, my advice is to pursue a position that interests you and aligns with your experience, skillset, and long-term goals. And be persistent! Knowing there are options outside editorial opens many career doors for varying skillsets. Second, before joining, I wish I had known about the industry's DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusion) facets. As a Latina woman from outside the industry, I felt a bit blindsided about how far publishing needed to go in hiring and retaining BIPOC employees and reaching diverse readers. In my Board role on our POC@PRH employee resource group, I've fostered a network of other racially and ethnically underrepresented employees. With their endless support, and through my personal experience and actual data backing me, I've grown more empowered to have critical, inclusive, cohesive conversations and to support our mission of creating an inclusive culture and welcoming workplace for BIPOC employees and connecting with readers universally.
LxP: What book are you currently working on or reading?
NI: So, so many (heavily skewed towards fantasy)! I recently finished: Silvia Moreno-Garcia's The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faerie by Heather Fawcett, In a Garden Burning Gold by Rory Power, The Memory Theater by Karin Tidbeck, Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher, and Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid. I've been into dark fairy tales lately! I'm working through Axie Oh's The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse in prep for the sequel, Fevered Star, Severance by Ling Ma, and NK. Jeminsin's The City We Became. My TBR for fiction is: Isabel Cañas’ The Hacienda, Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Maria, Maria: Other Stories by Marytza K. Rubio, and Eka Kurniawan’s Kitchen Curse. For non-fiction, up next on my list is Maverick Books' Revolutionary Women of Texas and Mexico, George Saunder's A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, and Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein's Data Feminism. Also, if you're into data viz, Nadieh Bremer and Shirley Wu are doing some amazing things with their Data Sketches project! Phew, that's a lot (and by no means all-encompassing!). I could talk about books endlessly, but I think we're at the end of our chat!
Nicolette Izquierdo is a Senior Analyst at Penguin Random House. She collaborates with cross-divisional stakeholders to deliver actionable, data-driven insights. Besides being a data geek, she’s also a voracious reader. You can catch her binge-reading the next epic Science Fiction/Fantasy book series or on a hike with her rescue dog.
