Marissa DeCuir

“Marissa’s journalism background gives her a noticeable edge in securing relevant press for our books and authors.” – Senior VP at Penguin Young Readers

“With Marissa, I knew from the moment we met that I was in good hands. She definitely has my best interest in mind. I love how she thinks outside the box to come up with ideas that will make me successful. She values her clients and loves what she does.” – S.B. Alexander, author of Dare to Kiss and other Maxwell Series books

“Marissa zeroed in on the intent of my book with the precision of a brain surgeon, then focused her intuitive skills on getting to know me, the author–my vision, concerns, and strengths. I knew right away I was not only in good hands, but my debut nonfiction would be championed in an enthusiastic, uniquely personal manner.” – Kate Kaufmann, author of Do You Have Kids? Life When the Answer is No

“Thank you for your honesty and your unflinching integrity. Everything you shared with me was geared toward making me as fully knowledgeable as possible, rather than toward garnering a new client. It is rare these days to find people willing to conduct business with the sort of unwavering ethical standard you have displayed. I am incredibly grateful to you for that.” – Robert Steven Goldstein, author of Enemy Queen and other literary fiction

“There aren’t as many hardworking, communicative, and pleasant people in this business of ours, so thank you for being one of them.” – Matthew Daddona, author of The Longitude of Grief

“I truly appreciate how gracious you were with the time you spent answering my questions today and getting to know me and the direction I’d like to go in with my author brand. Your warmth, willingness to share your expertise, and transparency on what we should prioritize in the campaign just reinforced how excited I am to work with Books Forward.” – Christina Bacilieri, author of The Last Refuge

A former journalist with national exposure, Marissa joined the Books Forward team more than 15 years ago. She oversees the day-to-day operation of the firm and is the driving force behind ensuring that Books Forward and its sister company, Books Fluent, takes clients’ writing and publishing careers to the next level. With her background in journalism, she has a first-hand understanding of how media works and what reporters want.

Named one of Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch Honorees, Marissa is both respected and adored by clients for her always encouraging and can-do approach. Her friendly personality and extremely detail-oriented management style ensure that our team stays fresh, motivated and creative. She is the first and final voice on all Books Forward matters, and she presides over all aspects of our publicity campaigns, including media and book tours, events, social networking, production and creative planning, and business decisions.

Marissa is born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans; in the past decade she has also lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now called on by media like Forbes and Writer’s Digest for her best practices for book marketing.

Her leadership gives Books Forward our cover-to-cover reputation as the industry’s trailblazer in literary publicity, and ensures Books Fluent is always a step ahead in publishing excellence.

In her spare time, her hobbies include being taller than everyone around her, keeping her numerous cats out of mischief and creating the most sparkly Mardi Gras outfits.