Duncan Murrell

Duncan Murrell – Editor

Editor of NYT bestsellers published by Grand Central, Algonquin, Warner, Nelson. I am also a contributing editor at Harper's Magazine.

Overview


"I was fortunate to find an extraordinary freelance editor in Duncan, without whose creativity and vision this idea would not have gone very far, and without whose hard work and insight this book would never have been finished. What he does is an art, and as I and many other authors will attest, he is one of that art's finest practitioners. He gave me the confidence that I really could be a writer." -- Robert Hicks, New York Times bestselling author of THE WIDOW OF THE SOUTH, A SEPARATE COUNTRY, and THE ORPHAN MOTHER.

I love helping people tell their stories!

I began in editing as a newspaper journalist, but quickly moved to book publishing and work I had long dreamed of doing. For five years I was an acquisitions editor at Algonquin Books and edited some of the company's most successful, bestselling books in both fiction and nonfiction. I began freelance editing (and writing) in 2002, and during the ensuing decade I edited many books of fiction and nonfiction for trade publishers, academic publishers, agents, and individual authors. I edited New York Times bestselling novels published by Warner, Grand Central, and Thomas Nelson. In addition to fiction, I've worked with authors and publishers on books of journalism, history, science, art, and music. For five years I was the director of the writing program at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, where I taught editing, publishing, and writing for undergraduates and graduate students. I've been a visiting professor in creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and I continue to teach and host writing workshops.

I'm also a contributing writer and contributing editor at Harper's Magazine and The Oxford American magazine, and a writer for the Huffington Post Highline, the Virginia Quarterly Review, Men's Health, and other magazines. Writing has complemented my editing career by giving me an intimate experience of the writer's struggles. This experience has forced me to develop empathy and patience to go with clear-eyed, exacting editing.

I dive deep into manuscripts and ignore nothing. I don't take shortcuts, and every mark or comment I make on a manuscript has been carefully written for that book. I think the author's own intentions for a book are the most important criteria for an editor.

I think grammar and usage are exceedingly important, requiring a different kind of attention from the editor. I edit even the finest, smallest detail if I think working on it will help the writer to say what they want to say.

I work quickly. I respond to messages promptly. I do what I say I'm going to do and I'm always on time. I love to hear from my authors and will always make time to talk. I think that being an editor also means having a sympathetic ear and a willingness to help authors navigate the publishing world without losing their minds.


Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs History Sports & Outdoors
Fiction
Historical Fiction Literary Fiction
Languages
English (UK) English (US)
Awards
  • Notable Selection, Best American Essays, "The Meat Horses of Siberia"
Certifications
  • Master of Science in Journalism, Northwestern University
  • Master of Fine Arts, fiction, Bennington College
  • Bachelor of Arts, history, Cornell University
  • Certificate in Copyediting, U.C. Berkeley

Work experience

CraftBook Editorial

Jul, 2002 — Present

• More than 1 million books in print. New York Times bestsellers: The Widow of the South, A Separate Country, The Orphan Mother
• I work with authors to develop their ideas into publishable books and manuscripts, often through many drafts.
• As a developmental editor, I edit manuscripts and proposals for structure, clarity, style, mechanics, and flow. I am also a line editor and copy editor. (Often all the kinds of editing come into play on the same project.)
• I help authors and would-be authors through the process of publication, from book/article proposal through publication and beyond, and into content marketing, book trailers, and networking. My editing specialities include fiction (literary, historical, crime), American history, 18th-20th century world literature, literary criticism, true crime, religions, political science, sports performance, biological sciences and natural history.

Harper's Magazine

Jul, 2005 — Present

• Reported and wrote longform works of narrative nonfiction on a variety of emerging regional and global issues, including the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, termites, and Latinx immigration into the American South.

Algonquin Books

Dec, 1997 — Jul, 2002 (over 4 years)

• Nearly 1 million books in print under the Algonquin imprint. Acquired, developed, and edited works of fiction, nonfiction, and photography, including national bestsellers (Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv; Gap Creek and Brave Enemies, by Robert Morgan; Godforsaken Sea by Derek Lundy).
• Built working relationships around the country with agencies, academic institutions, and publications in the search for new authors
• Developed expertise in developmental editing, long-term project development, line editing, copy editing, and book promotion

Portfolio

Carnton Plantation, 1894: Carrie McGavock is an old woman who tends the graves of the almost 1,500 soldiers buried there. As she walks among the dead, an elderly man appears--the same soldier she met that fateful day long ago. Today, he asks if the cemetery ha... read more
Gap Creek

Robert Morgan

The National Bestseller. A New York Times Notable Book. There is a most unusual woman living in Gap Creek. Julie Marmon works hard, "hard as a man" they say, so hard that at times she's not sure she can stop. People depend on her. She is just a teenager when h... read more
"The best book ever written about the terrifying business of single-handed sailing--. Lundy tells a harrowing tale, as tight and gripping as The Perfect Storm or Into Thin Air."--San Francisco ChronicleA chilling account of the world's most dangerous sailing r... read more
This Rock

Robert Morgan

From the author of Gap Creek-an international best-seller and winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award-comes the gripping story of two brothers struggling against each other and the confines of their mountain world in 1920s Appalachia. The Powell broth... read more
Brave Enemies

Robert Morgan

As the War for Independence wore on into the 1780s, unrest ruled the Carolinas. Settlers who had cleared the land after the Cherokees withdrew were being mustered for battle as British forces pillaged their hard-won farms. Robert Morgan's stunning novel tells ... read more
The Truest Pleasure

Robert Morgan

A “wondrous” novel of a marriage in the Appalachian Mountains, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Gap Creek (San Antonio Express-News). Ginny and Tom have a lot in common—a love of the land, and fathers who fought in the Civil War. Tom’s father died... read more
An epic account of one remarkable woman's quest for justice for her son after the Civil War from the New York Times bestselling author and "master storyteller" of The Widow of the South (San Francisco Chronicle). In the years following the Civil War, Mariah Re... read more
Set in New Orleans in the years after the Civil War, A Separate Country is based on the incredible life of John Bell Hood, arguably one of the most controversial generals of the Confederate Army--and one of its most tragic figures. Robert E. Lee promoted him t... read more
She has been called "the next great sports superstar." She's a world-champion sprinter and a national-champion basketball player. She has been considered the next great hope for American track and field since she was fourteen. At sixteen, she made the U.S. Oly... read more
A Golfer's Education

Darren Kilfara

Darren Kilfara's scheme to study abroad at St. Andrews University in Scotland-allegedly, to write a thesis on the history of golf-was foolproof. He would enroll at the school, go to a couple of classes, earn a year's worth of university credit, and become elig... read more
Humans suffer from numerous parasitic foodborne zoonoses, many of which are caused by helminths. The helminth zoonoses of concern in this book were once limited to diseases of animals, but have now become transmissible to humans. This book reviews not only the... read more
The Jew Store

Stella Suberman

This debut memoir about a Jewish family pursuing the American Dream in the early twentieth century South is “vividly told and captivating in its humanity” (Kirkus Reviews).In small town America, in 1920, the ubiquitous dry goods store—selling suits and coats, ... read more
Though usually plain, sometimes humble, wooden churches are something special. With no fancy accoutrements - the flying buttresses, the mountains of organ pipe, the marble floors, the windows of stained glass - wooden churches distinguish themselves through th... read more
There's nothing more cherished by Southerners than their dogs. Dogs, and their Southern keepers, know when it's time to eat and when it's time to be quiet. Both know when to move slow and when to bare teeth. In Southern literature, dogs have taken prominent ro... read more
In A Dark Place in the Jungle, writer Linda Spalding travels to Borneo's threatened jungles on the trail of orangutan researcher Birute galdikas. What she finds is an unholy mix of foreign scientists, government workers, tourists, loggers, descendants of Dayak... read more
Running North

Ann Mariah Cook

“This remarkable chronicle of the grueling Yukon Quest remains a vivid illustration of the soaring potential of both human and canine character” (Booklist).What happens when a woman and her husband move their family from New Hampshire to Alaska to train a team... read more
At Sea in the City

William Kornblum

New York is a city of few boundaries, a city of well-known streets and blocks that ramble on and on, into our literature, dreams, and nightmares. We know the city by the byways that split it, streets like Broadway and Madison and Flatbush and Delancey. From th... read more
Spirits of Just Men

Charles D. Thompson Jr.

Spirits of Just Men tells the story of moonshine in 1930s America, as seen through the remarkable location of Franklin County, Virginia, a place that many still refer to as the "moonshine capital of the world." Charles D. Thompson Jr. chronicles the Great Moon... read more
Smartbomb

Heather Chaplin

"A history of video games, presented through sharp profiles of their creators." —The New York Times Book Review What started as a game of Pong, with little blips dancing across a computer screen, has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry that is changin... read more
You can hear it in the hottest clubs in New York, the hippest rooms in New Orleans, Chicago, and San Francisco, and in top concert halls around the world. It's a joyous sound that echoes the past. It's Old World meets New World. It's secular and sacred. It's t... read more
Wrapped in Rain

Charles Martin

From the author of The Mountain Between Us and the New York Times bestseller Where the River Ends.“Martin spins an engaging story about healing and the triumph of love . . . Filled with delightful local color.” —Publishers Weekly"Tucker, I want to tell you a s... read more
On the night of December 1,1900, Iowa farmer John Hossack was attacked and killed while he slept at home beside his wife, Margaret. On April 11, 1901, after five days of testimony before an all-male jury, Margaret Hossack was found guilty of his murder and sen... read more
She was the first woman to address the U.S. Congress, the first to operate a brokerage firm on Wall Street, and the first to run for president. She's the woman Gloria Steinem called "the most controversial suffragist of them all." In this extensively researche... read more

Duncan has 43 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

John E.

John E.

Jan, 2024

Gained insight. Helpful.
Andrea W.

Andrea W.

Dec, 2023

Duncan's comments were excellent and very helpful. As a developmental editor, he exceeded my expectations by posing key questions and making suggestions that helped me to figure out what sort of story to tell. When he did not deliver his report on the agreed-upon date, he did not give me advanced notice (I contacted him) or much of an explanation. Also disappointing was the follow-up, since he ...
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Henry S.

Henry S.

Nov, 2023

Duncan's review exceeded my expectations. His written summary was comprehensive and touched on important structural elements of my novel that I did not see. The insights he shared clearly show his experience and exceptional skill at helping improve one's work. Henry
Samantha L.

Samantha L.

Oct, 2023

I am so incredibly grateful to Duncan and I honestly feel lucky to have found him as an editor. Not only was he timely professional, responsive, and fair, he took the time to work with me to tailor the edits to where I am with a rewrite of my book. I feel like he took the time to truly understand what I am trying to achieve with my novel and how to get me across the finish line. I am having act...
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Elsie A.

Elsie A.

Sep, 2023

Duncan reviewed the first draft of my book and really took his time to get to understand the characters and plot. He was great to work with.

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