James Abbate – Editor

Editor at Kensington Publishing, specializing in all genres of fiction and nonfiction, with a number of domestic and international bestselling authors on my list. I work quickly and efficiently to help authors and aspiring writers achieve a polished final product, editing for content, voice, style, structure, clarity, consistency, spelling, grammar, syntax, and impact.

For the past fifteen years, I've worked at Kensington, the largest independent publisher in the United States, acquiring thrillers, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, World War II thrillers, memoirs, biographies, and historical nonfiction, including a Holocaust memoir that was a 2022 National Jewish Book Award finalist, and a 2023 title that won Best Holocaust Memoir. My titles include tell-alls of franchises like The Exorcist, Scarface, The Exorcist, and Rambo, and biographies of famous musicians like Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Gene Krupa, and Keith Urban, as well as historical figures such as Meyer Lansky, Russell Bufalino, Carlo Gambino, Vladka Meed, Gianni Russo, Curtis LeMay, Frances Perkins, Ben Kuroki, and others.

I'm also the editor for military history books ranging from World War II to the Cold War, including espionage tell-alls from FBI and CIA agents such as Joe Pistone and Frank Storey. According to Publishers Marketplace, I am one of the top-ranking editors in the world in several categories, namely biography/memoir and true crime.

I'm adept at working within a tight time frame and ensuring that a manuscript is at its best, no matter the genre. I have all the skills that come with years of refined practice across thousands of manuscripts, including copy editing, proofreading, developmental editing, and editorial assessment.

I can also help writers craft a streamlined query letter that both packs a punch and catches an agent or editor's discerning eye, having received thousands myself over the past decade.