Greg Greeley of Simon & Schuster; Franklin Leonard of The Black List; Elizabeth McNamara of Davis Wright Tremaine; and Miwa Messer of Barnes & Noble will begin their first terms on the Foundation’s Board of Directors
New York, NY (May 19, 2026) – The National Book Foundation today announced that it has elected four new members to its Board of Directors: Greg Greeley, CEO, Simon & Schuster; Franklin Leonard, Founder & CEO, The Black List; Elizabeth McNamara, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine; and Miwa Messer, Executive Producer of Author Events and Content, Barnes & Noble. The addition of these new members brings the Foundation’s Board to 22 governing members.
“We are gratified to welcome four exceptionally talented individuals to our Board of Directors. This announcement follows the launch of our new strategic plan, deepening our commitment to books and to readers over the next five years,” said David Steinberger, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation. “We look forward to working closely with Greg Greeley, Franklin Leonard, Elizabeth McNamara, and Miwa Messer to amplify the Foundation’s mission to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, connect books with readers of all ages, and champion the literary arts as a vital part of our culture.”
“Greg, Franklin, Elizabeth, and Miwa bring significant experience in the literary ecosystem, a deep commitment to the written word, and a shared vision that access to books and reading are for everyone, everywhere,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “It is our honor to work alongside them to champion the work of writers and translators and celebrate the joys of reading.”
More information on each of the new members of the National Book Foundation’s Board of Directors can be found below. The full Board of Directors can be found on the National Book Foundation’s website.
Greg Greeley, CEO, Simon & Schuster
Greg Greeley is Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster. A veteran technology and media executive, he previously spent nearly 19 years at Amazon, where he led the company’s global books and media business and helped pioneer innovations including Amazon’s self-publishing platform and expanded audiobook and reader discovery programs such as Prime Reading and Audible offerings. He also played a key role in Amazon’s international expansion and the launch of Amazon Prime. Following Amazon, Greeley served as President of Airbnb’s Homes business, President and COO of Opentrons, and CEO of Thrasio. Most recently, he has worked as an investor and advisor to technology and consumer companies.
Franklin Leonard, Founder & CEO, The Black List
Franklin Leonard is the founder and CEO of The Black List, which he created in 2005 as an annual survey of Hollywood executives’ favorite unproduced screenplays and has since grown into a global platform connecting writers across film, television, fiction, and theater with the editors, agents, producers, actors, directors, and financiers seeking new material. Since 2005, more than 500 annual Black List scripts have been produced as feature films, grossing over $30 billion at the worldwide box office and winning 60 Academy Awards from 284 nominations—including four of the last 15 Best Picture Oscars and 13 of the last 38 for Best Screenplay. Leonard has also worked in feature film development at Universal Pictures and the production companies of Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, and Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella. Leonard is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Executive Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and serves on the boards of the Gotham Film & Media Institute and the American Cinematheque. In 2019, he received the Writers Guild of America East’s Evelyn F. Burkey Award
Elizabeth McNamara, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine
Elizabeth (Liz) McNamara specializes in complex media, intellectual property, and internet law. With extensive trial and appellate litigation experience across the country, Liz regularly represents clients in high-profile, cutting-edge litigations involving challenges to content and technology. Liz represents a broad spectrum of media and publishing entities, and she has handled many of the leading cases involving prior restraint, defamation, the intersection of commercial and editorial/entertainment litigation, and developing IP issues. Liz has represented The Associated Press, Business Insider, CBS, CNN, Condé Nast, Financial Times, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, Microsoft, NBC, Penguin Random House, PMC Media, Sesame Workshop, Showtime, Simon & Schuster, TikTok, and Time Inc.
Miwa Messer, Executive Producer of Author Events and Content, Barnes & Noble
A career bookseller, Miwa Messer is the Executive Producer of Author Events and Content at Barnes & Noble, and the creator/co-host of the company’s Poured Over podcast. Her previous roles include director of the Discover Great New Writers program at Barnes & Noble and senior publicist at Grove / Atlantic Inc. She began her career as a member of the opening staff at Waterstones on Exeter Street in Boston before moving to Chicago as promotions manager for the N. Michigan Avenue shop. She holds a BA in Asian Studies from Bowdoin College.
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The mission of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards, is to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, connect books with readers of all ages, and champion the literary arts as a vital part of our culture. The Foundation approaches this work from four programmatic angles: Awards & Honors recognize exceptional authors, advocates, literature, and literary programs; Education & Access initiatives foster a lifelong passion for books in young and adult readers; Public Programs bring acclaimed authors to communities nationwide to engage in conversations about books and showcase the power of literature as a tool for understanding our world; and Service to the Literary Field, provides support to the national literary ecosystem. Information on all of the Foundation’s programs can be found online at nationalbook.org.
The National Book Awards, established in 1950, is one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes and has a stellar record of identifying and rewarding quality writing. Many previous Winners of the National Book Awards are now firmly established in the canon of American literature, including Elizabeth Acevedo, Robert A. Caro, Ralph Ellison, Louise Erdrich, Nikky Finney, Ibram X. Kendi, Adrienne Rich, Arthur Sze, Maurice Sendak, and Jesmyn Ward.
Header photo credit (left to right): Roger Knopf, Ian Passmore, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Joshua Messer
