The BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX Team is just like you: we love books and more importantly, we love to talk about them.

We work out of Toronto, Canada. We are an educated and dedicated group of people who have been professionally trained in many areas: English literature, teaching, library work, music, forensic social work, environment, criminology, graphic arts and web design. But it is our love of books and reading that reflects our true credentials.

Our BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX mission is to reach out to readers of all kinds in order to inspire fun and to promote understanding of the great many novels, past and present, waiting to be read and appreciated.

Marilyn Herbert
Creator and administrator of BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX. As an educator, school librarian, writer, book-talk presenter and facilitator, Marilyn loves to read and talk about books. Her enthusiasm for reading and sharing led her to unite her two favorite things: people and pages. In turn, this led to the creation of BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX, the ultimate discussion companion for works of literary fiction. Marilyn is always looking for a great debate about books and welcomes all feedback.

Adina Herbert
Adina Herbert has been working for BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX on and off for a number of years. She is currently completing her master's degree in social work at the University of Toronto. Her passion for books and writing drives her again and again into the capable hands of BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX. Adina writes, reads, edits, researches, and thoroughly enjoys all the wonderful works of art that cross her desk. We like her, we’ll keep her – she’s related!

Ellie Richmond
Ellie is a very talented graphic designer who works from both sides of the ocean. Her home base is Toronto, but she is currently overseas with her husband, the doctor. Ellie has created our new logo, cover image and interior design for the guide. She has reduced the dimensions of our book to a true ‘hands-on’ size.

Moira Phillips
Moira has joined our team, bringing to BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX her skills as a writer and editor. She has worked as a professional editor for close to thirty years, editing both fiction and nonfiction. When she’s not editing or discussing books with Marilyn, she teaches editing and grammar in Toronto.

Ramya Jegatheesan
Ramya has been working with BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX as a co-writer and researcher, all the while that she has been studying for her Honors B.A in English and Political Science at the University of Toronto. Ramya is deeply involved in university politics and journalism, and with some luck and a lot of hard work, she hopes to become her own version of Naomi Klein and champion ‘The Cause’ through the printed word. Best of luck to you, Ramya.

Nuzhat Khurshid
Nuzhat has also been a co-writer and researcher for BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX and has just graduated from the U.of T. with an Honors B.A. in English and Political Science. An aspiring journalist, she is currently taking a break from academia to enjoy her newly married life and stoke her passion for religion and languages. She hopes to acquire her Masters in Journalism and work at the Toronto Star as a political analyst. Congratulations, Nuzhat.

Paul MacKenzie
Paul is in charge of programming and development for BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX. He runs the Toronto web hosting and web design company called Elehost Web Design Inc.   Elehost is a compassionate hosting company which Paul started in 1998. They are progressively environmentally conscious,  and pride themselves by offering unique personal service. Paul and his team are easy to work with and help us bring you new guides and other information as soon as everything is ready.

Alison Zemell
Alison obtained a masters in film history from the University of London, and a BFA in Film Production from York University. After working at the British Film Institute, she has joined the team as a film researcher, providing insight and information into the film adaptations of the BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX repertoire. She is a great person to see movies with.

Erin Balser
Erin is currently a student in the Books and Magazines Publishing program at Centennial College. After completing her M.A. in cultural studies and crtitical theory at McMaster University, she woke up and realized she needed skills to get a real job. When she's not doing school work or research for BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX, she's writing, reading and concocting ways to avoid entering the real world.

Jo Anne Carlisle
Jo Anne has the distinction of being the very first customer of BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX. She liked us so much that she now works for us in the capacity of executive assistant. She looks after all our shipping and record-keeping needs. And in between those time-consuming tasks, she edits and proofreads as well. She is a lovely ‘jo anne’ of all trades.

Mamie Fabel
Mamie Fabel has been teaching English to high school students for 30 years. She teaches at Cretin-Derham Hall, a private, Catholic school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Mamie reads at least one book a week and writes poetry and short stories. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, three children and dog Lucy. Mamie has a wicked editorial eye. Students, beware!

Have fun with our website and with BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX. We look forward to hearing from you and we welcome your comments about books, book clubs, reading, and especially about Bookclub-in-a-Box. Please contact us.