Emily Burns – Editor

I am an editor at Spiegel & Grau, where I edit literary and upmarket fiction, as well as very select narrative nonfiction projects. Previously I worked at Grove Atlantic, where I acquired and edited novels by Quan Barry, Martin Riker, and Bruna Dantas Lobato, and assisted in the publication of books by Douglas Stuart, Bernardine Evaristo, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Abraham Verghese, Sayaka Murata, Albert Woodfox, Dava Sobel, and many more. Books that I have edited have been recognized by the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, the Carole Shields Prize for Fiction, the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, the Dublin Literary Award, and the Cercador Prize.

I specialize in structural and developmental revisions as well as granular, line-level edits, but I can also assist you in molding and refining your query letters and proposals or offer a big picture look at your manuscript-in-progress with an eye towards the current market, honed by nearly ten years in independent publishing. I look forward to working with you to shape your book and achieve your editorial vision.