Smith and Kraus.
A family of Publishers.

We started as a family business and 30 years later are still a family business. 

Thirty years ago Marisa Smith and Eric Kraus first called The Drama Book Shop in New York New York and sold them our monologue books while her older son, Luke, was at nursery school and the younger one, Peter was waiting to make his entrance. Now Peter is CEO and Luke is CFO. Marisa and Eric now answers to them! Take a few moments to learn a little bit more about who makes Smith and Kraus, Smith and Kraus. 

Meet the Family

  • Peter Kraus

    President

    Peter has always had a keen interest in stories and was destined to run Smith and Kraus ever since he convinced his parents to publish a friend’s fantasy adventure for middle schoolers.  Before coming on full time as President Peter worked as a certified sommelier at Spago Beverly Hills, Wolfgang Puck’s flagship Restaurant. When he's not enjoying the world of literature he can be found on the beach with his dog Prince cracking open an obscure bottle of wine.

  • Luke Kraus

    CFO

    Raised in New Hampshire in a family of entrepreneurs, Luke intimately understands small businesses. His first job was applying stamps on envelopes for Smith and Kraus. Today, he is a lawyer and runs a title company--that embraces technology over child labor. He also serves as S&K’s in-house counsel and CFO. Luke has been dragged to the theater since he could walk; one time his Mother was severely admonished by an elderly Boston matron in the ladies’ room of the Lyric Stage for taking him to a Neil Simon play when he was only seven years old. Outside work, Luke spends his time with his wife Caroline and their three kids exploring the scenic terrains of New Hampshire and hitting the ski slopes during winter.

  • Marisa Smith

    Co-Founder

    Smith and Kraus Publishers was  established when Marisa Smith and Eric Kraus realized that there was a demand for more monologue books; that the available material was not enough to satisfy the insatiable need that actors have for a good monologue to use in class or at auditions. Since those first monologue books were published in 1990, S and K has published over 700 titles. Also during that time, Marisa gave birth to Luke and Pete who now run the company while she acts as a consultant and pursues her second career as a playwright. 

  • Eric Kraus

    Co-founder

    Eric Kraus is the original Kraus and co-founder of Smith and Kraus Publishers. Initially, Smith and Kraus was a book packing company and their first book, The Actors Book of Movie Monologues ( Viking/Penguin, 1986) is still in print. When Eric and Marisa decided to become publishers, Eric enjoyed his time both at his computer and in his garage picking and packing the books. Soon, S and K outgrew the garage and is now the leader in theater books for the trade. Eric is thrilled that his boys have stepped up to the plate and will continue to support his vision.