Dori Harrell – Editor

Every year I have authors on the major awards lists!

And this year, for the first time, yours truly was nominated for the Editor of the Year and Mentor of the Year for the Carol Awards!

2026 Awards

-Selah Award nominations (I have six authors who finaled—the most ever! And one is a Reedsy project!):

Rooted and Refreshed (Tiffany Fox) (Reedsy)

Stubborn Hope (Jacqui Kambish)

To Kiss a Night ( Grace Hitchcock)

Bible Companion Series Isaiah–Daniel ( Karen Westbrook)

Those Who Tresspass ( Sydney Grey)

A Simple Kindness in Flatsboro (Heather Norman)

2025 Awards

-Christy Award finalist!: Walking on Hidden Wings (Rachel McDaniel)

-Indie Author Network winner: Turning Toward Eden (Cate Touryan)

-Golden Scroll: Coal Black Lies—2nd (Cindy Sproles)

-Selah Awards

Coal Black Lies—first! (Cindy Sproles)

Hello in There—first! (Sam Blumenthal)

Long Black Veil—second! (Sam Blumenthal)

Bible Companion Series, Job—third! (Karen Moderow)

Beloved Outcast (memoir)! (Cherie Denna)

2024 Awards

-Selah Awards

Heart in the Clouds—placed in two categories! (Jennifer Mistmorgan)

26 Below (Kimberley Woodhouse)

-Christy Award, Star of Wonder (Crystal Caudill)

-Caleb Award, Heart in the Clouds (Jennifer Mistmorgan)

-Christian Market Book Awards, Book of the Year, Beloved Outcast (Cherie Denna!)

-Christian Market Book Awards (Gold), Two Rivers (Mike Henry!)

Book editing is the most glamorous career in the world! (And eating red licorice while editing is even better ...) I edit full time for traditional publishers—including Kregel Publications and Our Daily Bread—and indie authors, and I served as managing editor of a Christian hybrid press for nearly five years, in which I oversaw a team of thirty-plus editors and typesetters. With more than 400 titles under my belt, I offer coaching, developmental editing, line editing, and copyediting. My authors, including independent ones, final in the major awards, and several books have gone on to win awards and/or become USA Today and Amazon bestsellers. A multiple-award-winning writer (and USA Today best-selling author) with over a thousand published articles, I speak at writers' and editors' conferences nationwide. I also evaluate manuscripts for Kregel, plus I serve on the board of the Northwest Christian Writers Association, through which I offer multiple workshops.

I'm a hands-on editor, and my developmental edits cover the main elements of fiction (character, plot, pacing, structure, POV, theme, and voice) and anything else worth noting, and will have comments throughout the margin. With nonfiction, I cover author's message, author's goals, pacing, voice, and structure and format. With line editing and copyediting, I not only catch typos and other errors, but I apply the industry style guides (Chicago Manual of Style) so that your book reads as smoothly as any on a bookstore shelf. I take on a small number of new clients every year, and I'm particularly interested in working with authors who've studied their craft.

I graduated from the University of Washington with a double major in journalism and political science, and I'm a huge Seahawks fan—go Hawks! I look forward to chatting with you about your baby!