Chantelle Aimée Osman (she/her) is Editor of Agora Books, an imprint of award-winning publisher Polis Books, specializing in crime fiction and horror with unique social and cultural themes, particularly from underrepresented voices. Since its founding in 2019, Chantelle’s Agora titles have been nominated for Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, Strand Critics, Macavity and Lefty awards, and won three International Latino Book Award medals, as well as being featured in NPR, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Chicago Tribune and Entertainment Weekly. She was named a Publishers Weekly Rising Star honoree in 2020, and has been a judge for the Phoenix Film Festival, International Thriller Awards and the National Association of Hispanic Publication’s José Martí Awards. The former Editor-in-Chief of RT Book Reviews Magazine and a freelance editor for over ten years, she has also been an instructor at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, the international Authors at Large workshop program and LitReactor.
Prior to working in the publishing industry, she obtained her law degree and worked with political campaigns on the state and presidential levels, also working as a federal and state lobbyist, fighting for such issues as awareness for organ donation programs and gambling addiction prevention. After leaving the law, she worked as head of both business affairs and development for various production companies in Hollywood.
Chantelle is the author of the non-fiction series on writing The Quick and Dirty Guides To…, has published numerous works of short fiction, and has served as the editor of multiple anthologies, including the upcoming Jewish Noir II from PM Press. The former co-host of the Crime Friction podcast, she now hosts the Words of Prey podcast through the Pipeline Artists Network. She is represented by Josh Getzler of HG Literary.
Education:
J.D., Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
B.A., Cum Laude, Psychology, Arizona State University
B.A., Cum Laude, Art History, Arizona State University
B.A., French, Arizona State University
Courses Taught at LIU Brooklyn:
WRI 529: Publishing and Media Workshop
