Nataly Gruender joined Dystel, Goderich & Bourret as a financials associate in 2022 and was named financials director in 2024. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and English and a minor in classics. After attending the second virtual Columbia Publishing Course, she quickly booked it across the country to pursue a career where she would be constantly surrounded by stories. Before joining the agency, Nataly worked as a bookseller for the Barnes & Noble in Park Slope, where she commandeered the YA and fantasy/sci-fi sections to display her favorite books.

Nataly is not open to queries, but she loves LGBTQ+ fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and YA fiction, stories that draw deeply from mythology, and any narrative with a slightly unhinged, potentially villainous woman at the helm.

Nataly says... 

I was the kid reading in the car on long trips even when focusing on the words made me feel sick, the kid who always had a book in her bag in case I finished a test early (or rushed to finish a test) and had the chance to read a few pages, the kid whose library card was worn down until you could barely see the shaky signature on the back. I remember devouring the original Percy Jackson series, and I’ve been chasing that enchanting, all-consuming kind of read ever since.

I loved studying ancient classics like the Iliad and the Odyssey in college, because it was marvelous to me that stories that were thousands of years old could still have an impact on modern readers, and even inspire some of my favorite works, like Madeline Miller’s Circe.

I knew that books would always be a part of my life, and after taking an Intro to Publishing course in my sophomore year of undergrad, I was determined to make books my career. The Columbia Publishing Course opened my eyes to the opportunities that this field holds, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work within the DG&B team and support the agents and authors crafting someone’s next all-consuming read.