Helpful. Hopeful. Inspiring.

Matt West has spent thirty years in the book world, but he’s still as obsessed with a great story as the day he started. He’s worked on sixteen national and New York Times bestsellers and negotiated deals with industry giants like Barnes & Noble, Apple, Amazon, and Google, as well as indie stores, libraries, and everything in between. His favorite project, though, is the one he’s building right now: Dexterity.
After leadership roles in sales, sales operations, digital and data operations, as well as acquisitions for traditional houses, Matt partnered with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center to run a publishing accelerator. That experience inspired him to flip the script and create Dexterity—a new kind of publishing company that rejects the "big publisher factory" model and the “figure it all out yourself” DIY model, instead building a community of book people with startup hustle.
When Matt isn’t coordinating launch plans with new authors or reading up on market trends, you’ll find him on the tennis court working on his serve or listening to his extensive collection of vinyl records, or of course, with a book or three on his desk.
An ecclectic reader across many genres and topics, Matt is especially happy to explore business, leadership, and personal growth titles, books about books and publishing, history, memoir, and fiction with a literary bent.
Matt lives in Nashville with his wife and Dexterity co-pilot, Kim; they are currently adjusting to an empty nest while their twin sons study at their respective SEC schools.

Lauren Arieux Bryan is Dexterity’s Production Editor, primarily focused on managing projects and providing coordination and support for our clients and freelancers. A former Dexterity freelance editor and proofreader herself, Lauren certainly lends these skills to the role, as well. She originally hails from Alabama, where she earned a B. A. in Journalism from Auburn University (War Eagle!) and a Masters of Library Science from the University of Alabama, which further solidified her love of books and data. After working as a librarian and bookseller, she moved to Nashville 15 years ago and has since hung her hat at (the unfortunately now-closed) Davis-Kidd Bookstore, managed data and research for the administrative arm of the United Methodist Church, and served as an acquisitions editor for the United Methodist Publishing House.
She lives in Bellevue, Tennessee with her husband, where they attempt to keep the chaos under control with their two wild boys and their two, also wild, dogs. When not hiding somewhere quiet to read, she can be found killing houseplants, working in her vegetable garden, traveling to visit family and friends, and longing for the day she has access to a neighborhood pool.

Ashley Harris is Dexterity’s Assistant Marketing Manager working with authors and clients to create and carry out creative marketing campaigns and pitch our titles to a wide variety of media outlets. Ashley first began working with Dexterity in 2018 as a student freelancer and continued her professional development with an editorial and marketing internship at Beaufort Books in New York City in 2019.

In 2020 Ashley earned a B.A. in Book Publishing with an emphasis in Marketing and Publicity and a minor in English Writing from Belmont University. She started at Dexterity part-time in October 2020 and joined the team full-time in January 2021. When she’s not reading, Ashley fills her time with escape rooms, cross-stitch, game nights, and cuddles with her cat Luna.

Shirley Lachance is Dexterity’s Marketing Coordinator, working to develop and launch social media and email marketing campaigns. She assists in pitching stores and media outlets, data entry, sales tracking, and more. Shirley joined team Dexterity in January of 2025 as a marketing and PR intern while finishing her undergraduate studies.

In May of 2025, Shirley graduated from Belmont University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Creative and Entertainment Industries and a minor in Music Business. In her free time, she can be found volunteering at her church, enjoying quality time with friends and family, testing out new recipes, or weeping her way through a contemporary romance novel. Originally from Rhode Island, Shirley now lives in Columbia, Tennessee.