About Our Team
Faculty and Staff
Manuela Soares
Director, Lecturer
As Director of the Pace University Press, Soares works with editors on a variety of academic journals. Well-known for its studies of Virginia Woolf and medieval literature, more recent additions to the Press list of publications include journals on acting, comics, philosophy, and psychology. As Director, Soares reviews new submissions and oversees the operation of the Press and its staff. Soares is also the Director of the MS in Publishing program at Pace.

Erica Johnson
Associate Director
Erica Johnson is a Professor of English at Pace University. She is the author of several books including Caribbean Ghostwriting and, most recently, Cultural Memory, Memorials, and Reparative Writing. She enjoys the teamwork of editing books and has co-edited The Female Face of Shame and Jean Rhys: Twenty-First-Century Approaches with Patricia Moran, Memory as Cultural Capital with Éloïse Brezault, and Wide Sargasso Sea at 50 with Elaine Savory. She has published widely in the field of literary studies in such journals as MFS: Modern Fiction Studies, Biography, JNT: Journal of Narrative Theory, Contemporary Women’s Writing, The Journal of Caribbean Literatures, Anthurium, Meridians, and Woolf Studies Annual.

Ariel Stevenson
Graduate Assistant
Ariel Stevenson is a first-year graduate student in the M.S. in Publishing program working towards a career in publicity within the book publishing industry. Originally from a small town in Texas, she received her B.S. in Web Design and Development from Brigham Young University – Idaho. Over the years, Ariel has worked as a freelance Graphic Designer, Social Media Marketer, Book Seller, and recently returned from living in Spain where she received a grant to teach English. Along with her love for design and publicity, Ariel is passionate about writing and hopes to become a full-time author one day. She is grateful to be a part of the Pace University Press and excited for her future in publishing!

Harper Bullard
Graduate Student Aide
Harper Bullard is a second year MS in Publishing student from North Carolina. She attended the University of Kentucky for her undergraduate degree, where she earned a Bachelor of Music with a second major in English Literature. Prior to joining the Pace University Press, she worked as a social media intern for Wisdom House Books, a small boutique publishing company in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and as an assistant for prolific author Elizabeth Winthrop.

Adjei Kwesi Boateng
Graduate Assistant
Adjei Kwesi Boateng is a Graduate Assistant, currently pursuing an MS degree in Publishing. He is originally from Ghana, West Africa, where he has spent most of his life. Adjei is a published novelist under the pen name J.K. Knowlife, best known for his captivating mystery thriller “The Homecoming.” He specializes in writing fiction, including genres such as sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery thrillers. Adjei enjoys reading, playing video games, and pursuing various intellectual interests. He aspires to utilize his degree to enhance his publishing firm and help promote other talented writers from his native Ghana.

Lucely Garcia
Production Assistant
Lucely Garcia is a Pace MS Publishing Graduate and is currently the Production Assistant for Pace University Press. Born and raised in the Bronx, Lucely received her bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from CUNY Lehman College. She was published in Lehman’s literary and arts magazine, Obscura. She mostly writes fiction, poetry, to-do lists, and social media captions. She interned for various small blogs (BlendTW and Society19) and creative organizations like Uptown Stories. When not working various part-time jobs, she reads to pass the time and writes to make up for it. Lucely hopes to join the publishing industry as an Editor and to publish her own book… eventually.