Melanie Iglesias Pérez – Editor

At Atria Books (Simon & Schuster), Melanie worked with debut, celebrity, and bestselling authors writing in English and Spanish. Books she worked on have appeared on national and international bestseller lists, have won or been nominated for awards and prizes, and have been selected for national book clubs, among other accolades.

Melanie holds a BA in Creative Writing (Interdisciplinary Studies) from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, and an MS in Publishing: Digital and Print Media from NYU's School of Professional Studies. She is also a Geek Rican at heart. When not working or reading, Melanie loves playing Dungeons & Dragons, board games, and Nintendo games; rewatching her favorite comfort movies; watching Dropout shows with her husband; and swooning over film & TV costuming details.

Areas of expertise include: Adult romance, magical realism, "upmarket plus" (lyrical writing with a commercial plot and a paranormal, fantastical, sci-fi, or speculative twist), women's fiction, book club fiction, modern retellings, Puerto Rican stories, and nerd culture.

Please note: I am not well-versed in mystery/thriller nor horror, and do not work on dark romance nor books featuring gore or abuse.

* * *

Reviews from Atria Books authors:

“When Melanie took over The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, I knew I was in the right hands. With great attention to detail, and the ability to blend genre and literary with commercial fiction, she’s someone I would trust with my books.” —Zoraida Córdova, USA Today bestselling author

“Melanie has been one of the best editors I’ve worked with in my career. She has an intuition about storytelling and knows how to harness a writer's full potential in an editorial process. Through our time together, I felt like my craft and my ability to connect with readers improved tenfold. I highly recommend working with her for all your editorial needs.” —Nisha Sharma, author of Dating Dr. Dil (Melanie worked with Nisha on The Lotus Inn)

“Working with Melanie on my books was like leveling up in word magic! Her keen editorial eye for plot, world building, and character development gave me options for tightening the pace and storyline while still staying true to my work, and her insight into the nuances of individual scenes and chapters shaped my book into the best possible version of what it could be.” —Audrey Goldberg Ruoff, author of Hopelessly Teavoted and Vengefully Matched

“Melanie's feedback on characterization, emotionality, pacing, and plot elevated my writing and transformed my own editorial eye. It was evident that she cared about maintaining the authenticity of my story while improving its chances of succeeding in a competitive industry.” —Anamely Salgado Reyes, author of My Mother Cursed My Name

“Melanie's understanding of my characters and thematic intentions [gave] me the confidence to dive back into [my] manuscript and shape it into art that I can be proud of. She is a passionate collaborator who provides excellent suggestions and questions that prompt my own creativity to flourish and expand.” —Katie Chandler, author of Backhanded Compliments and Triple Threat