James Magniac – Editor

"James explored the work with extreme care, and left no page and detail unchecked … He understood—almost instinctively—my aesthetic style and offered salient recommendations. I am the better for this partnership—both as a writer and a creative. Thank you."
—Aya Saed, Reedsy, 2020

Hello!

I specialise in editorial assessments and developmental edits for literary fiction and upmarket commercial fiction. Having worked in the editorial departments at two of London’s most prestigious and fiercely independent publishers—Oneworld Publications and Granta Books—I have spent the last decade reading, assessing, positioning, and editing works of prize-winning literary fiction. I want to use my insider’s knowledge to help make your novel the best it can be, and to de-mystify the publishing process so that you can choose the right path when taking your work to market.

I spent five years as a fiction editor at independent publisher Oneworld (2012-2017) where I was brought in to help build the company’s fiction list. Working closely with the Publisher in a small, hands-on team, I took great pride in working with authors at every stage of the editorial process, from early to advanced stages of editing. In 2015-16, we won back-to-back Man Booker Prizes with Marlon James’s A Brief History of Seven Killings (2015) and Paul Beatty’s The Sellout (2016); the Guardian described it as ‘an incredible achievement for any publisher, let alone one the size of Oneworld’. We also won a bunch of other literary prizes, and won the IPG Trade Publisher of the Year in 2016.

I focus on working with individual authors on a freelance basis, focusing on works of literary and upmarket commercial fiction—so if that's you, drop me a line!

--

'James is that rarest of things: an excellent reader and editor with a fine, critical mind who also has extensive knowledge of the publishing marketplace. He has considerable experience working on fiction and non-fiction across a wide array of genres and is a complete pleasure to work with. I know James would be a huge help to aspiring, and established, writers.'
—Rosalind Porter, Deputy Editor, Granta Magazine

‘James has an excellent editorial eye and is a delight to work with. He has a rare insider’s knowledge of how publishers acquire and publish literary and upmarket commercial fiction, and he has a wonderfully deft touch when it comes to instilling confidence and helping writers find their voice.’
—Jenny Parrott, Publishing Director, Point Blank, Oneworld Publications