About Us
As the first 100% women-owned book publishing house in Monaco, Carob Tree Publishing was founded in March 2024 by Lacey Da Costa, an IEFTA film producer, and Nancy Heslin, editor-in-chief of The Monegasque, who share the belief that empathy fuels connection.
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The concept is Made-in-Monaco books that largely support women authors and women-driven projects connected to the Principality. Books in French that help develop Monaco’s cultural identity will also make up the catalogue of this niche maison d’édition.
The Monaco-registered SARL looks to create an inclusive publishing eco-system – supporting, as much as possible, local creatives, local businesses and local printers in the Principality who equally embrace diversity, equity and inclusion – with a goal of getting Monaco’s vibrant stories out there to the global market.
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Carob Tree Publishing's first title, 100 Years of Women: Motorsport & Monaco, was released January 24, 2025.
Managing Director
Lacey Da Costa has been an avid reader since childhood and a passion for storytelling has been a driving force in her life and career. Originally from Texas, she left behind a medical career in cardiac care to come to Monaco in 2010. An unexpected role as a documentary film producer with the Monaco-based International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA) launched her into the world of film and non-profit foundations.
A decade on, Lacey is currently the President of IEFTA and has overseen two critical international UN Refugee Campaigns (in print, broadcast and new media) while developing IEFTA’s engagement with the educational and industrial capacity of emerging economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has represented IEFTA at various international film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, El Gouna). Film credits include: Latin Four Plus (2022); Beyond the Raging Sea (2019); Refugee Voices in Film (Editions 2017-2024); and Gray Matters (2014).
As a mentor to up-coming filmmakers from under-represented regions and through her work with the UN, she has seen first-hand the influence film can have on shifting perceptions and creating positive change. Carob Tree Publishing is her way of continuing to tell inspirational stories that reach a global audience of all ages, all genders, through another medium – books.
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Nancy Heslin
Publishing Director
Nancy Heslin is the Editor in Chief of the English-language arts and culture magazine, The Monegasque, and was formerly Editor in Chief of the bimonthly Forbes Monaco.
The gifted moderator hosts the Monaco Info The Podcast in English series and cohosts Nancy & PJ Finally Get Together, a podcast reaching listeners in 139 countries.
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Additionally, Nancy is the founder of the not-for-profit
Good News, Monaco, sharing positive human interest stories that support women and community.
As a journalist for 25 years, she has distinguished herself as the go-to media personality in the region, whether taking the TGV with Tom Cruise to Marseille for People Magazine or talking to Cherie Blair about financial empowerment for women. She has been featured in documentaries by ARTE and Channel 5.
Additionally Nancy is president of Swimrun Monaco and a 2022 French Coastal Rowing Master Champion for Monaco.
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