Overview
I am an editor with two decades of experience in all stages of book and magazine editing, with a background in literary publishing. I provide editorial services including project management, developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, and proofreading. I also have extensive production experience (but please note that, while this informs my editorial eye, I do not offer production services). I have been on staff at three literary magazines and have worn every hat possible. I have worked on fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translations, across all genres, and for all ages. And I’ve loved it all!
In the acknowledgments to his book The Tree of the Doves, Christopher Merrill wrote "Special thanks to Anne McPeak, whose brilliant copy editing not only saved me many errors but inspired me to see my work anew." I strive to merit that praise from every writer I work with, whether it is publicly acknowledged or not.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Writing & Publishing
Fiction
Classics
Literary Fiction
Middle Grade
Short Story
Young Adult
Languages
English (US)
Work experience
Self-employed
Sep, 2007 —
Present
Current and past clients include Archipelago Books, Bellevue Literary Press, City Lights Books, Fence Books, Graywolf Press, Harry N. Abrams, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, jubilat, Milkweed Editions, Macfadden Media, Monkey Business International, the New York Observer, Open Road Media, PBS NewsHour, Penguin Press, Random House, St. Martin’s Press, and various individuals (including John Wray, Mary-Beth Hughes, and Laura Corn)
A Public Space
Jun, 2008 —
Jan, 2014
(over 5 years)
Line-edited, copy-edited, and proofread all material for the magazine; oversaw all production; brainstormed content, directions, and departments; and oversaw many crucial aspects of magazine life, including marketing and event planning. Worked with Yiyun Li, Leslie Jamison, John Haskell, Keith Lee Morris, Gary Amdahl, Mary Jo Bang, Adrienne Rich, Amy Leach, Anne Carson, T. C. Boyle, and Richard Powers, among many others. Currently copy-edit all material on a freelance basis.
Words Without Borders
Sep, 2007 —
Jun, 2008
(9 months)
Commissioned original content for the magazine; Evaluated manuscripts in all genres, including those in the French language; Managed communication flow between far-flung editorial staff and guest editors; Created and enforced production schedule; Aided in developing Education Initiative; General upkeep of website, including design of new front pages, copy writing, proofreading, and creating and enforcing consistent house style; Grew subscriber base through vigorous marketing; Maintained contacts database.
Associate Editor / Assistant Editor
Sep, 2003 —
Jun, 2007
(over 3 years)
Associate Editor: Evaluated poetry manuscripts; Responsible for all aspects of production, from layout and typesetting to intensive proofreading to liaising with press; Handled contracts; Coordinated Writers in the Schools program.
Assistant Editor: Evaluated fiction manuscripts; Managed special New Writers issue and subsequent reading; Maintained and expanded website; Initiated creation of cumulative Online Index.
Irene Skolnick Literary Agency
Jun, 2002 —
Aug, 2003
(about 1 year)
Evaluated unsolicited manuscripts; Created reader’s reports for requested material; Drafted pitch letters for book proposals; Checked contracts for accuracy; Maintained database of authors and publishing contacts.
Portfolio
A powerful examination of the artistic impulse, cultural identity, and family bondsAnita is waiting for Adam to be released from prison. They met twenty years ago at a New Year’s Eve party in Paris, a city where they both felt out of place―he as a recent arriv... read more
From personal loss to phantom diseases, The Empathy Exams is a bold and brilliant collection, winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction PrizeA Publishers Weekly Top Ten Essay Collection of Sprin... read more
Copy Editing
A dark-hued, hybrid novel by a writer who “delivers our culture back to us, made entirely new” (A. M. Homes)In The Complete Ballet, John Haskell choreographs an intricate and irresistible pas ... read more
Proofreading
In her first memoir, award-winning novelist Yiyun Li offers a journey of recovery through literature: a letter from a writer to like-minded readers. “A meditation on the fact that literature i... read more
Copy Editing
A brilliant exploration of the natural, medical, psychological, and political facets of fertilityWhen Belle Boggs's "The Art of Waiting" was published in Orion in 2012, it went viral, leading ... read more
Proofreading
The hugely acclaimed New York Times Best Seller, now available in paperback!*A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist*ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2014:The New York Times Book Review (Top 10), Entertainment Weekly (Top 10), New York Magazine, Chicago Tribune ... read more
Using several ageless questionsWhere do we come from? Where are we going? What shall we do?”as his point of departure, award-winning poet Christopher Merrill explores the related issues of terror, modernity, tradition, and epochal transformation. In three e... read more
A haunting, enigmatic novel about a woman who is given a second chance―and isn't sure whether she really wants it* A Publishers Weekly "Indie Sleeper" * A Powell's Indiespensable Pick * The Nervous Breakdown's October Book Club Pick *Elisa Brown is driving bac... read more
A profound mystery is at the heart of this magnificent new novel by Yiyun Li, “one of America’s best young novelists” (Newsweek) and the celebrated author of The Vagrants, winner of the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. Moving back and forth in time, between Ame... read more
A BOOKLIST Best Young Adult Book of 2016 and a Top 10 Romance for YouthBEING A TEENAGER is hard enough without your mother in rehab and your slightly inept stepfather doing his best not to screw things up. But at least, Coy has Monroe. Coy is a quirky teenage ... read more
An enthralling new novel from the highly acclaimed author of Becoming Jane Eyre. Sheila Kohler's memoir Once We Were Sisters is now available. The compelling story of a forbidden marriage, a baby lost, and a love triangle gone horribly wrong, Love Child center... read more
An award-winning author reimagines one of Freud’s most famous and controversial cases. Sheila Kohler's memoir Once We Were Sisters is now available.Acclaimed for her spare prose and exceptional psychological insights in her novels Becoming Jane Eyre and Love C... read more
A landmark anthology celebrating twenty-one Native poets first published in the twenty-first centuryNew Poets of Native Nations gathers poets of diverse ages, styles, languages, and tribal affiliations to present the extraordinary range and power of new Native... read more
“This is the rare debut that introduces not a promising talent but a major writer, fully formed.” ―Garth GreenwellIn the nine expansive, searching stories of A Lucky Man, fathers and sons attempt to salvage relationships with friends and family members and con... read more
Jack is a walking fossil. The only human among a sea of clones. It’s been hundreds of years since humanity died off in the slow plague, leaving the clones behind to carry on human existence. Over time they’ve perfected their genes, moving further away from the... read more
For fans of Asylum, Anna Dressed in Blood, and The Haunting of Sunshine Girl comes a new feminist horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Mary: The Summoning. Five boys attacked her. Now they must repay her with their blood and flesh. Bethan... read more
Middle-earth for middle graders: From the Publisher ofThe Hobbit and Lord of the Rings comes a new young reader fantasy series that proves you don't have to be brave or powerful to do great things. In a classic fantasy world of anthropomorphic rabbits, three y... read more
A moving reflection on a subject that touches us all, by the bestselling author of Claire of the Sea LightEdwidge Danticat’s The Art of Death: Writing the Final Story is at once a personal account of her mother dying from cancer and a deeply considered reckoni... read more
Seventeen-year-old Zeb Holloway is happy to work in his uncle’s auto repair shop and cruise through school without much effort. He’s a quarterback on his high school’s undefeated football team, but he never plays. Why would he when T.T. Munroe—a walking, talki... read more
India is a land of festivals. Every day is a celebration of life, victory, light, and love, in a country rich with history and tradition. UTSAV is a monumental photographic work of over a thousand pages, featuring delicious recipes throughout, and honoring a c... read more
The most inventive and entertaining novel to date from “a master of the dark arts” (Kelly Link)A modest house in upstate New York. One in the morning. Three people―a couple and their child―hurry out the door, but it’s too late for them. As the virtuosic and te... read more
“A savvy, smart handbook for the digital age” —Brad Listi, founder of The Nervous Breakdown & host of OtherpplThe Craft is a new e-book series that provides writers the essential tools to sharpen their stories and essays. Volume I offers an exclusive glimpse i... read more
Odd-job queen Starshine Hart is about to go on somebody else’s perfect date. At 29, the usually carefree Starshine has realized that it is easier to start sleeping with a man than to stop. Her lovers include one of the last underground members of the Weatherme... read more
From the Casey Award–winning author of Bill Veeck: Baseball's Greatest Maverick, the first full biography of Leo Durocher, one of the most colorful and important figures in baseball history.Leo Durocher (1906–1991) was baseball's all-time leading cocky, flambo... read more
Julia Song and her friend Patrick want to team up to win a blue ribbon at the state fair, but they can't agree on the perfect project. ThenJulia's mother suggests they raise silkworms as she did years ago in Korea. The optimistic twosome quickly realizes that ... read more
"When every piece falls into place, it's like a dance, a delicate but powerful balancing act. The art of holding on and letting go at the same time."Competitive climber Cara Jenkins feels most at home high off the ground, clinging to a rock wall by her fingert... read more
Written in the irreverent style that made How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read a critical and commercial success, Pierre Bayard takes readers on a trip around the world, giving us essential guidance on how to talk about all those fantastic places we've nev... read more
Dorthe Nors follows up her acclaimed story collection Karate Chop with a pair of novellas that playfully chart the aftermath of two very twenty-first-century romances. In "Days," a woman in her late thirties records her life in a series of lists, giving shape ... read more
The New York Times Bestseller!“Absolutely riveting.” —Alexandra Bracken, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Passenger This vividly rendered novel reads like HBO’s Game of Thrones . . . if it were set in the Ottoman Empire. Ambitious in scope and intimate ... read more
"A literary titan of his time, one of the most innovative novelists in contemporary Latin American letters." -The Washington PostThe most distinctive thing about the Gamal sisters is that they are, essentially, indistinguishable (except for a modest mole). The... read more
Best-selling author Mary-Beth Hughes delivers a seductive, deeply human, and sophisticated collection about the universal need to be loved, and the complicated imperfections that jeopardize the ties that bind us.The stories in Double Happiness are extraordinar... read more
A dazzling, spellbinding novel set in a mythical Jewish community by the acclaimed author of the New York Times Notable Book The Book of MischiefIt's the late 1960s. The Pinch, once a thriving Jewish community centered on North Main Street in Memphis, has been... read more
The debut collection of a writer whose accolades precede her: a Whiting Award, a Rona Jaffe Award, a Best American Essays selection, and a Pushcart Prize, all received before her first book-length publication. This book represents a major break-out of an entir... read more
In 1973, the music scene was forever changed by the emergence of hip-hop. Masterfully blending the rhythmic grooves of funk and soul with layered beats and chanted rhymes, artists such as DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash paved the way for an entire new genre... read more
"To think of creativity in terms of transcendence is itself specific and partial—a lovely dream perhaps, but an inhuman one."It is not only white writers who make a prize of transcendence, of course. Many writers of all backgrounds see the imagination as ahist... read more
Join New York City’s most intrepid eater—Robert Sietsema, pioneer of outer-boroughs dining—in an urban adventure like none other. Through essays on the city’s defining dishes, some familiar, others obscure, Robert paints a portrait of New York’s food landscape... read more
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