WonderLab mixes science and imagination to spark curiosity.
We make books, podcasts, digital content, 360-degree publishing programs, and so much more.
We make books, podcasts, digital content, 360-degree publishing programs, and so much more.
We are innovators in media. Since our company started, it’s been our mission to help companies stand out by creating extraordinary custom content. We’ve done everything from make New York Times bestsellers to create award-winning franchises, produce awesome podcasts to consult for top publishing brands—all while working with an incredible community of creatives to bring ideas to life.
Based on more than fifty collective years of experience in publishing, WonderLab develops a broad range of content for all ages with a specialty in the areas of children’s nonfiction and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Specializing in book publishing, audio, and digital content, we staff projects with talented teams drawn from a pool of some of the best professionals in the industry. Every project we undertake is designed to connect with kids and adults alike in order to spark curiosity and a continued interest in discovering our world.
illustration by John Foster
We create and develop original content that we pitch to media companies. As former editors ourselves, we love working hand in hand with publishers to turn a concept into a perfect fit for your list. Then we create it for you from start to finish!
We work as full-service book packagers and editorial service providers. Whether you're looking for a writer, illustrator, fact-checker, indexer, designer, project manager, or a combination, we do it all.
Are you looking to maximize, repurpose, or reconfigure your current offerings? We can help you develop and implement strategies for success within publishing and the kids' media industry. We also specialize in creating cohesive, 360-degree programs: smart, well-crafted, and successful products that drive interested consumers from one to the next.
Wondering what wonderful things we’ve been up to in the WonderLab?
Check out some of our projects.
The founders—Jennifer Emmett, Erica Green, and Kate Olesin—met at National Geographic Kids. In 2020, we got together and created WonderLab based on a core belief that when families explore science and the world together, they inspire curious minds and become lifelong learners.
Today, WonderLab continues to grow and create remarkable content for both kids and adults. While we have an expertise in kids’ nonfiction, we also bring insight to all kinds of projects for kids of all ages. Whether it’s books, digital articles, or podcast creation, we are nimble and dynamic. We bring decades of publishing experience, backed by a global network of top-tier creators.
Jennifer learned early on that channeling your inner ten-year-old makes you a better children’s book editor. She later found that channeling your inner mom makes you a better project manager. She has three college-aged kids who inherited their mom’s passion for reading and her curiosity about the world. On Jennifer’s first real day of her first real job, she flew to New York City to eat sushi and meet with the writers of Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, and then got to research clues for three seasons. She worked at National Geographic for twenty-three years, starting as an assistant editor and eventually becoming Senior Vice President for Kids Media, heading up a team of sixty that made two magazines, a website, podcasts, short-form videos, and one hundred books a year. At WonderLab, she loves practicing an entrepreneurial spirit, managing big, ambitious programs with great teams, figuring out complex operations, and best of all, coming up with winning book ideas and approaches. She teaches Children’s Publishing and Media for George Washington University’s publishing program and encourages students to develop both their creativity and their business sense, because the best books are born when those successfully intersect. She is the board co-chair of Shout Mouse Press, a Washington, DC–based small press that works with young people from marginalized groups to tell their stories. Jennifer lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with her husband, in-and-out kids, and a yellow lab named for a book character.
Jennifer’s favorite project (so far):
Talking Rocks & Minerals
Why:
Funny, adorable Pebble the Rock Reporter makes it fun to hang out with the rock stars of the rock world!
In the second grade, Erica used to climb the walnut tree in her front yard, settle into a somewhat comfortable nook, and read a book for hours on end. Since then, she’s found a way to read and write both close to home and in far-flung outposts around the world. She studied African literature in Ghana, won a poetry prize in Northern Ireland, wrote a travel article for a newspaper in Turkey, and is a co-founder of the annual Iceland Writers Retreat in Reykjavík. All the while, she built what is now a thirty-year career in publishing and media. Highlights include her roles as the VP editorial director for children’s publishing at National Geographic, publishing director at Discovery Communications, and editor at Chronicle Books. At WonderLab, Erica leads new business development, edits and project manages until all hours of the night, and even enjoys tinkering with a complicated P&L. She currently lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, two kids, and a beagle in a house full of travelers’ artifacts.
Erica’s favorite project (so far):
Be Bold!: Sea Turtle Swims
Why:
She grew up on a beach and loves the ocean. Also . . . baby sea turtles are the cutest!
Kate is passionate about everything from new dinosaur discoveries to that feeling when you create an organized and stunning visual flatplan for a client. As an editor with more than fifteen years in publishing—mostly specializing in nonfiction for reluctant middle-grade readers—Kate has amassed (what she feels) is the largest collection of amazing, gross, out-of-this-world, strange, and just plain wacky fun facts ever. Besides sharing these tidbits at parties and with clients over Zoom, she also put them into a book series that she authored called FACTopia! from Britannica Books plus cocreated and hosted the award-winning kids’ radio program The Weird But True Show! on SiriusXM. Kate is also all about creating a fluid and seamless project management process for clients, whether it’s setting up Basecamp or detailed development concepts to get a project from idea to reality. As a former executive editor for National Geographic Kids, she has edited everything from fiction stories starring overzealous hamsters, guides on how to communicate with your dog, and even serious biographies about primate scientists. Kate lives in Portland, Oregon, where she is inspired by all the beautiful, weird stuff that surrounds her.
Kate’s Favorite Project (so far):
DinoMania!
Why:
Because there are dinosaurs wearing boxing gloves on the cover! What could be better than that?!
