Meet the Boydell Team: Katie Kumler

We are excited to continue sharing with you some insight into our company and the individuals who make up Boydell & Brewer. Today we introduce Katie Kumler, Marketing Manager in the US office.

What led you to your current role at Boydell & Brewer?

I studied medieval literature and history in college. In my junior year, my mom emailed me asking whether I was aware that there was a major medieval studies publisher in Rochester (my hometown). I wasn’t, but I filed that information away. When I graduated, I sent in my resume, even though there were no advertised openings. Oddly enough, I got a call, and ended up filling in for someone who was on parental leave. She opted not to return (she’s now an English teacher, because once in books always in books), and here I am.

What’s the absolute best part of your job?

When I email a random stranger about advertising or setting up a society discount or something like that, and they end up being a kindred spirit with a great sense of humor. In other jobs, I haven’t needed to be in such wide email contact with such a large network, and I missed those serendipitous interactions. Also, the things my coworkers say between 4:30 and 5:00 pm. I cannot speak for other departments, but Marketing consistently gets weird at the end of the day.

What’s the view from your desk?

A slice of parking lot, air conditioners, two romantic-looking lampposts, and a bit of the park-like area behind the office. It isn’t the most beautiful view, but the windows have lovely latticework that makes everything look pretty.

What’s the best thing on your desk?

My tiny alpaca.

Katie’s tiny alpaca.

What are you currently reading?

Jenny Lawson’s Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. I have injured myself laughing.

What’s your beverage of choice?

Coffee, or really fancy black tea.

What’s one Boydell book that you’ve worked on?

In my early time here, I remember doing a lot of work on Alec Wilder’s Letters I Never Mailed, which is what my My First Boydell Book blog post is about. I still think it’s a wonderful, funny, human, vulnerable book, and it pleases me even more that Wilder was a Rochester native – and a distant relative of one of our former longtime employees.

If you could choose a book for us to publish on ANY subject, what would it be?

Well, we’ve already covered the late sixteenth-century records of the commissioners of sewers in the Parts of Holland, which would obviously have been my first choice. I would really love to see some books on New York’s Native American history. It’s fascinating, but hard to find good information on. I’d be grateful to any scholar who’d like to do that work for me, so that I can read the fruits of their labor! I also think marketing local history in the US could be a lot of fun.

What’s your favourite historical novel, film or play?

The Lion in Winter. So many great insults.

You can choose up to four people from history to join your dinner party: who are they?

Caroline Herschel, the under-celebrated sister of the famous eighteenth-century astronomer William Herschel; she was not only an excellent astronomer herself, but also a gifted singer, so that takes care of the entertainment portion of the evening

Margaret Fuller, because women with bad reputations are usually the most interesting ones

Edward Gorey, who would no doubt decline

James Madison, who will be asked to sit in the corner until he explains to my satisfaction several contentious sections of the Constitution


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