Dinah Dunn

Dinah Dunn – Editor

Former Hachette editor with 20+ years experience developing and editing bestselling nonfiction for children and adults

Overview

For more than a decade I worked with terrific authors at Black Dog & Leventhal, a nonfiction imprint of Hachette, on topics that ranged from skyscrapers and cemeteries to the Gilded Age and the golden age of hip hop. Before that, I spent my formative years packaging illustrated nonfiction for major houses at Byron Preiss Visual Publications and Downtown Bookworks.

I love working with both first-time and experienced authors, helping them to develop and hone their ideas to create books that are the best reflection of their talent. My personal passion is history and armchair travel, which I write for children, but also have extensive experience in cooking, pop culture, and nature.
Services
Non-Fiction
Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits Entertainment History Nature Sports & Outdoors
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Black Dog & Leventhal/Hachette Book Group

Jul, 2007 — Jan, 2019 (over 11 years)

Conceived and acquired titles for children and adults, with a focus on history, music, armchair travel, and popular culture, as well as creating proprietary titles, calendars, and other ancillary products.

Downtown Bookworks

Mar, 2006 — Jun, 2007 (over 1 year)

Developed projects, edited manuscripts, and worked with publishers on all stages of production,
including an illustrated children’s edition of the New York Times-bestseller 1491 by Charles C. Mann

Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc.

Sep, 1993 — Feb, 2006 (over 12 years)

Acquired, edited and packaged approximately 20 fiction and nonfiction titles a year for major
publishers, including Dream of Freedom by Pulitzer Prize-winner Diane McWhorter (five starred
reviews) and the #1 New York Times-bestseller I Already Know I Love You by Billy Crystal.

Portfolio

Chuck D Presents This Day in Rap and Hip-Hop History

Chuck D

A comprehensive, chronological survey of rap and hip hop from 1973 to the present by Chuck D, arguably the most influential rapper in the world.In the more than 40 years since the days of DJ Kool Herc and "Rapper's Delight," hip hop and rap have become a billi... read more
Forest Life: Practical Meditations on Canoeing, Fishing, Hunting, and Bushcraft (Classic Outdoors)

George Washington Sears

Forest bathers, readers of Cabin Porn and Your Cabin in the Woods, rejoice! This illustrated collection of Sears' odes to the outdoors is your perfect escape into nature. Forest Life collects George Washington Sears' timeless writing about the joys of explorin... read more
Jacques Pépin New Complete Techniques

Jacques Pepin

Jacques Pépin is universally hailed by professional chefs and home cooks as the grand master of cooking skills and methods. Now, his classic seminal work, Jacques Pépin?s Complete Techniques, is completely revised and updated with more than 1,000 color photogr... read more
How to Camp in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Finding, Outfitting, and Enjoying Your Adventure in the Great Outdoors

Devon Fredericksen

Perfect for everyone from novices to boondockers, How to Camp in the Woods compiles contemporary and classic wisdom, practical tips, and illustrated DIY advice on every aspect of equipping, packing, setting up camp, cooking, and improvising no matter where you... read more
199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die

Loren Rhoads

A hauntingly beautiful travel guide to the world's most visited cemeteries, told through spectacular photography and their unique histories and residents. More than 3.5 million tourists flock to Paris's Père Lachaise cemetery each year. They are lured there, a... read more
Simple: The Easiest Cookbook in the World

This is really the EASIEST COOKBOOK IN THE WORLD. Every recipe has less than four steps and fewer than six ingredients, illustrated with more than 1,000 user-friendly photographs. No wonder it is an overnight international bestseller! Want a quick answer to "W... read more
Bob Dylan: All the Songs - the Story Behind Every Track

Philippe Margotin

All the Songs is the most comprehensive exploration of Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize-winning music and lyrics yet, with the behind-the-scenes look at the studio recording session, album, and every single released during his remarkable 50+ year career.This New York T... read more
Skyscrapers: A History of the World's Most Extraordinary Buildings -- Revised and Updated

Judith Dupre

A landmark bestseller, Skyscrapers is the unique colossal celebration of the world's most significant and striking super-structures that "captivates the eye, mind and imagination," writes The New York Times.Uniquely designed to showcase the full color images o... read more
The Gilded Age in New York, 1870-1910

Esther Crain

The drama, expansion, mansions and wealth of New York City's transformative Gilded Age era, from 1870 to 1910, captured in a magnificently illustrated hardcover.In forty short years, New York City suddenly became a city of skyscrapers, subways, streetlights, a... read more

Dinah has 1 review

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Sayuri S.

Sayuri S.

Jan, 2022

Working with Dinah has been the highlight of my editing/trying to get published journey! As a first-time author, I was pretty unaware of industry standards and etiquette, and I felt like I had a chaperone through the tricky business of taking my manuscript from done-ish to ready for query! Dinah was incredibly attentive, fast, thorough, careful and super thoughtful. Her feedback on everything w...
Read more

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