Joshua Wilson – Editor

As a writer, I've published ten books of my own on national presses, including an Amazon top ten book of the year. My work has appeared in more than two hundred literary journals (like Tin House, The Believer, Poetry, and Pen America) and in nearly two dozen anthologies. While most of my training is in poetry, I've also written three novels and published many essays as well.

I bring nearly twenty years of teaching experience--and two teaching awards--to my professional coaching and editorial work with my clients. Because I was a tenured professor at a top MFA program, I offer a rare set of skills to working with folks one-on-one on their editorial projects--whether in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

As a small press publisher, the books I've edited have been named finalists for the National Book Award and the LA Times Book Prize. The most recent title I edited--Fred Moten's All That Beauty--was chosen as a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times for 2019.

Because I've taught at the college level for two decades, I've worked with *a lot* of successful writers, including many published authors, Stanford Stegner Fellows, and a recent finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

I love working with novice and advanced writers alike, on a wide range of projects. Over the years, I've taught storytelling courses, literary nonfiction classes, poetry workshops, literature seminars, and a popular course at Seattle's Hugo House called Suspenseful Writing.

I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from University of Arizona and a PhD in English from University of Denver as well as an MA in Film Studies from University College Dublin. I've made one feature documentary, and love to work on projects with screenwriters as well.

I've taught at more than fifteen schools--including overseas in Turkey, Slovakia, and Italy--and a have a wide range of experience working with folks of diverse backgrounds. The vast majority of the books I've edited on Letter Machine are by women and/or writers of color. And last year I was the Andrew Mellon-funded Writer-in-Residence at Rhodes University in South Africa, where I served as an advisor to grad students.

My editorial clients get deep attention, prompt response, clear and specific feedback on their progress, and lots of support and encouragement. Depending on your needs, I offer broad attention to story (arc, plotting, and narrative structure), or fine-tuned editorial and craft-based feedback. In the past, I've set up writing schedules for accountability for clients, and love to problem solve through any and every snag known to novelists, memoirists, and poets. In fact, I also teach a popular course in Seattle called Getting Unstuck, so I have a lot of tricks to help get you out of the weeds.

My goal is to figure out what your goals are, and then to set up a plan for helping you realize them as an editor. I follow Robert Gottlieb's advice (he was Toni Morrison's editor): to help you make the best book out of what you've written. I love working with writers of all kinds, and I look forward to hearing about what you're working on.

Poets whose books I've edited include, among many others:
Fred Moten (MacArthur Genius Award, National Book Award Finalist, NYT Top Ten Book of the Year)
Alice Notley (Pulitzer Prize Finalist)
Brandon Shimoda (Pen Open Book Award Winner)
Farid Matuk (Arab-American Book Award Winner)

Client Testimonials:

Josh is the perfect type of mentor. He guides you down the unfamiliar path in this strange and wonderful writing world and allows you to uncover who you are as a writer, not the kind of writer that he thinks you should be. —Jen O.

With Josh’s coaching, I transformed my manuscript from problematic to award-winning in under a year. His constructive critiques helped me improve both my craft and my story, and his encouragement kept me going. Josh’s ability to share his expertise with kindness, humor, and a sprinkling of tough love when needed is invaluable to any writer. Highly recommend! –Allison M.

It is no exaggeration to say working with Josh on my series of short stories has been a turning point in my confidence and my writing career. He has been gracious enough to almost seamlessly take on multiple roles as guide, supporter, teacher, and that person who makes your brain go into all those rarefied places it needs to go to make art.—Lamar J.