Larissa Melo Pienkowski grew up outside of Boston and attended Simmons University, where she earned her degree in social work and sociology, wrote and performed poetry, and edited a number of literary magazines. After earning her MA in publishing and writing from Emerson College, she worked with Beacon Press and Barefoot Books before becoming the associate publisher of Dottir Press. In 2020, she started her own freelance editing company and began agenting at Jill Grinberg Literary Management before joining Azantian Literary Agency in 2025.

In addition to working with authors one-on-one, she’s had the pleasure of collaborating with publishers like Macmillan, St. Martin’s Press, Tor, Soho Press, Sourcebooks, Hub City Press, And Other Stories, Barefoot Books, and Little, Brown BFYR, among others. She also speaks at creative writing programs, MFA workshops, and writing conferences nationwide, where she shares practical guidance on craft, revision, and the publishing process.

Larissa is the daughter of Brazilian and Polish immigrants and speaks Portuguese and Spanish. As a queer, mixed-race Latine editor, she is especially committed to uplifting and preserving BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodiverse, and other historically marginalized voices and experiences. She can also be found on Manuscript Academy and Reedsy.