Item: James Attlee
Rating: 5.0
Author: Jonathan Fisher

Reviews (2)

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Reviews (2)

Overview

Being an author who also works in publishing is a bit like being a doctor when you have a disease: you know what everybody should be doing but you don't want to be that awkward author/patient that makes a fuss and spoils their day— at least that’s how I've felt on more than one occasion! However, the experience I've gained through 20 years in the industry while also pursuing a writing career has put me in a good position to diagnose both what you need in terms of support as an author and what your manuscript requires in order to find a publisher.

I specialise in non-fiction, particularly art, travel, history, music and memoir. As a developmental editor I get great satisfaction from seeing a project that was previously in difficulties reach the finish line. Having been edited myself, I know how important it is to gain a relationship of trust with the author I'm working with, built on the right combination of affirmation, insight and straight-talking when needed.

Books I have worked on include 'The Art Museum in Modern Times' by Charles Saumarez Smith ("lively, informative... a good read", The New Criterion)

'Voyaging Out: British Women Artists from Suffrage to the Sixties', by Carolyn Trant ("Diligent, detailed and full of surprises", The Observer)

'Taming the Four Horsemen' by Robin Hanbury Tenison ("This is a fabulous book: it's like pumping a mountain stream through your head", Tim Smit, co-founder of The Eden Project)

'Today South London, Tomorrow South London' by Andrew Grumbridge and Vince Raison ("The ultimate reprobate's guide to God's own side of the river— your liver may never be the same again... Wonderful". Jenny Eclair)

My own books include 'Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey' ("Attlee had me purring from the word go... Unique and very special", Geoff Dyer in The Guardian); 'Nocturne: A Journey in Search of Moonlight' ("Charming, spellbinding, an inspiration", The New York Times); Station to Station (All human life is here, one ghost interweaving with another.’ Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday); Guernica: Painting the End of the World ("An impressive overview", The Sunday Times) and Under the Rainbow: Voices from Lockdown ("Full of warmth, wit and eloquence", Alexandra Harris)

Services

Developmental Editing

Copy Editing

Editorial Assessment

Languages

English (UK)

English (US)

Non-Fiction

Architecture

Art

Biographies & Memoirs

History

Photography

Travel

Writing & Publishing

Certifications

PhD by Published Work, Oxford Brookes University

Awards

New Media Writing Prize, 2017

Creative Writing Tutor

Ruskin College, Oxford

May, 2022 – Present (about 2 months)

Associate Lecturer, Creative Writing

Oxford Brookes University, UK

January, 2020 – Present (over 2 years)

One-to-one supervision of MA students on creative writing programme, teaching, marking final submissions of creative writing projects

Freelance Developmental and Structural Editor

Self-employed

January, 2012 – Present (over 10 years)

I provide either detailed publishing reports on books outlining the steps the author needs to take, or structural edits on the manuscript itself, depending on the project. Author liaison is a key part of this role.
Also work as a managing editor, liaising with all stakeholders, from printer to designer to authors, particularly on exhibition catalogues

Editor at Large (UK)

University of Chicago Press

January, 2012 – January, 2017 (about 5 years)

My role included identifying authors with promising projects to bring to the Press; helping first-time authors think through and shape their proposals; editing the sample chapters that accompanied such proposals

Sales and Rights Director

Tate Publishing, London

September, 2001 – December, 2011 (about 10 years)

I was responsible for global sales and distribution of Tate titles; press and publicity; foreign rights sales; liaison with the publishing departments of museums around the world that took Tate touring exhibitions; representing Tate at book fairs in London, Frankfurt and the USA.

The Art Museum in Modern Times

Saumarez Smith, Charles

Santiago Calatrava: Drawing, Building, Reflecting

de Albornoz, Cristina Carrillo, Calatrava, Santiago

Taming the Four Horsemen

Robin Hanbury-Tenison

As featured on ITV News and Radio 4's Today programme'This book could not come at a more appropriate moment . . . Matchless man: hugely important book' Joanna Lumley'A great champion of environmental activism . . . His extensive travels have given him many insights' Sir Ranulph Fiennes'This is a fabulous book . . . It's like pumping a mountain stream through your head' Sir Tim SmitA powerful p... read more

The New Spanish Revolutions

Christopher Finnigan

Travelling from Madrid to The Valley of the Fallen, through Castile and León and across the fiercely contested region of Catalonia, Christopher Finnigan meets a remarkable cast of characters behind some of the biggest political events Spain has witnessed in decades. Whether it is the indignados left-wing activists rethinking society, the everyday citizens sitting in parliament, or the Catalan ... read more

Today South London, Tomorrow South London

Andrew Grumbridge, Mr Vince Raison

Ruth Asawa: Citizen of the Universe

Ridgway, Emma, Salthe, Vibece, Åsebø, Sigrun, Blakinger, John R., Pringle, Emily

Painting

Attlee, James, Chapman, Clare, Ridgway, Emma, Kapoor, Anish, Bhabha, Homi K, Kristeva, Julia, Kemp, Martin, Hilty, Greg, Rosenthal, Norman, Knight, Chris

Professionalism

Professionalism

Quality

Quality

Value

Value

Communication & Punctuality

Communication & Punctuality

I cannot recommend James highly enough. He took my MS and made it publishable. All his edits were astute. He was able to deal with quite involved social analysis. And he completed the edit as quickly as I could have hoped.

Jonathan Fisher, April 2021

Thank you Jonathan. It was a pleasure working with you and your project was inspiring. I wish it every success.

Reply from James Attlee

The project involved updating a travel novel for the English-language market, a work published in translation a number of years ago. James engaged thoughtfully with the text and provided a number of valuable insights, especially in framing the story for a contemporary readership . He also provided additional, and helpful, line-editing. I would recommend particularly for non-fiction, e.g. h...

Stefan Sullivan, March 2021