Brian Halley

Brian Halley – Editor

I'm interested in working with writers - journalists, scholars, activists, memoirists - drive by social justice, with a passion for a cause.

Overview

I'm an editor with almost twenty years of experience, working for a literary agency, an activist trade press, and a university press. I have also freelanced as a developmental editor. I would be happy to hear from authors interested in sharpening their work so that their passion and their message comes through in their book projects.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Entertainment History Law LGBTQ Non-Fiction Nature Political Science & Current Affairs Writing & Publishing
Languages
English (US)
Awards
  • Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction 2008 (The Publishing Triangle)

Work experience

University of Massachusetts Press

Jul, 2009 — Present

I acquire and edit regional trade titles (New England), scholarly crossover titles, and scholarly monographs in literary studies/book history/print culture, environmental studies, gender & sexuality, and race & ethnicity.

Beacon Press

Aug, 2001 — Jul, 2008 (almost 7 years)

I acquired and edited activists, including journalists and scholars, focused on issues around the environmental, gender and sexuality, veterans, and the law.

Sayle Literary Agency

Feb, 2000 — Apr, 2001 (about 1 year)

Assisted in all manner of agenting, including reviewing proposals & manuscripts, submissions to editors, author relations, royalty statements, permissions, and more.

Portfolio

Bricklayer Bill: The Untold Story of the Workingman's Boston Marathon

Patrick L. Kennedy

Two weeks after the United States officially entered World War I, Irish American "Bricklayer Bill" Kennedy won the Boston Marathon wearing his stars-and-stripes bandana, rallying the crowd of patriotic spectators. Kennedy became an American hero and, with outr... read more
Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds

Claire Hope Cummings

Life on earth is facing unprecedented challenges from global warming, war, and mass extinctions. The plight of seeds is a less visible but no less fundamental threat to our survival. Seeds are at the heart of the planet's life-support systems. Their power to r... read more
Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide, and the Lessons of War

Penny Coleman

In the early 1970s, Penny Coleman married Daniel, a young Vietnam veteran and fellow photographer. Soon, Daniel became deeply troubled, falling victim to multiple addictions and becoming strangely insecure. He suffered from what we now call posttraumatic stres... read more
People before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a New Movement for City Making

Karilyn Crockett

In 1948, inspired by changes to federal law, Massachusetts government officials started hatching a plan to build multiple highways circling and cutting through the heart of Boston, making steady progress through the 1950s. But when officials began to hold publ... read more
Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty

Mark Winne

In Closing the Food Gap, food activist and journalist Mark Winne poses questions too often overlooked in our current conversations around food: What about those people who are not financially able to make conscientious choices about where and how to get food? ... read more
A People's History of the New Boston

Jim Vrabel

Although Boston today is a vibrant and thriving city, it was anything but that in the years following World War II. By 1950 it had lost a quarter of its tax base over the previous twenty-five years, and during the 1950s it would lose residents faster than any ... read more
Drifting Toward Love: Black, Brown, Gay, and Coming of Age on the Streets of New York

Kai Wright

Drifting Toward Love tells the stories of Manny, Julius, Carlos, and their friends, young gay men of color desperately searching for life's basic necessities: homes that provide more than shelter and security against more than violence or disease. As these tee... read more

Brian has 2 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Adam L.

Adam L.

Feb, 2022

Brian is a professional guy with great credentials. I chose him for an editorial assessment with the hope of an insightful review but in the end was disappointed. Overall, the communication and resulting feedback seemed rushed, as if it were a back-burner priority scraped together at the last minute. I was surprised that his feedback indicated dearth of awareness of religious allusion or cla...
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Ashanti C.

Ashanti C.

Jan, 2021

I am a new writer with a big story of a human rights battle that has now spanned two decades. I was in need of a skilled editor who believed in my mission and could read it for emotion and substance. Brian Halley’s extensive editing background was a comforting place to find what I needed to understand how the book was impacting the reader. His thorough reading and understanding of the events...
Read more

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