Overview
Lit Reactor gave me a nice write-up!
I've been a book editor at New York publishers for more than 30 years, most recently at Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press. There I had 6 Times bestsellers, including a #1, and worked with top political figures on both sides of the aisle: Bernie Sanders, John Kasich, John Boehner, Terry McAuliffe, Jane Harman, and Stu Eizenstat, to name a few.
My list there, as they've always been, was a balance of serious nonfiction and more fun commercial nonfiction often focused on pop culture, such as a behind-the-scenes look at the MCU and an oral history of Star Wars. I also handled upmarket fiction, thrillers and crime fiction.
Previously I was at Amacom, where I had three books win or longlisted for CEO-READS Best Business Book awards; Wiley, started a sports list and had 3 Times bestsellers and 1 Edgar Award winner; and Avon, where I started a history imprint, helped start a heath imprint, and did books in every genre except romance.
I'm also an author. S&S published my fantasy novel "The Dragon Round" in July 2016, and I've published 50 speculative fiction stories.
Prior to writing fiction, I wrote poetry, publishing more than 70 and earning a Pushcart Prize nomination.
I received a B.A. in English from Wesleyan, then an M.A. in English from the University of Florida, where I published a paper in the WVU Philological Papers and taught writing for two years.
Services
Non-Fiction
Fiction
Languages
Awards
- Commissioned and edited "The Science of Sherlock Holmes" by E. J. Wagner, 2007 Edgar Award Winner
- Commissioned and edited "We Are Market Basket" by Daniel Korschun and Grant Welker, 2015 CEO-READ General Business Book of the Year
- NY Times bestsellers at Thomas Dunne Books: "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" by Bandy Lee, "Team of Vipers" by Cliff Sims, "Ladies Who Punch" by Ramin Setoodeh, "Two Paths" by John Kasich, and "Beyond Charlottesville" by Terry McAuliffe
- NY Times bestsellers at Wiley: "Never Give Up" by Tedy Bruschi, "Heaven and Hell" by Don Felder, and "The Worst Person in the World" by Keith Olbermann
Certifications
- M.A. in English, University of Florida
Work experience
Thomas Dunne Books
Handled serious and commercial nonfiction along with upmarket fiction, thrillers and crime novels.
Amacom
I handle "books for bosses": leadership, management, general business and HR titles.
My top titles include: "We Are Market Basket" by Daniel Korschun and Grant Welker, the CEO-READ General Business Book of the Year and an Amazon Best Business Book of the Month; "Winning Well" by Karin Hurt and David M. Dye, longlisted for the 2016 CEO-READ Business Book of the Year in the category Management and Workplace Culture; "The Hidden Leader" by Scott Edinger and Laurie Sain, twice a Washington Post bestseller; "Lead with Humility" by Jeffrey Krames; "The 10 Laws of Trust " by Jet Blue chairman Joel Peterson; and "Smart Mom, Rich Mom" by Kimberly Palmer.
Wiley
Created the sports list, including Tedy Bruschi’s NY Times bestseller "Never Give Up," as well as books by Hank Haney, Jim McLean, Yogi Berra, and NPR’s Scott Simon
Helped build the pop culture list with Eagle guitarist Don Felder’s NY Times bestseller "Heaven and Hell" and Ian Christe’s "Everybody Wants Some."
Contributed to the current affairs list with Keith Olbermann’s NY Times bestseller "The Worst Person in the World," then his book "Pitchforks and Torches."
Commissioned half of the above titles, as well as many in science and history, including EJ Wagner’s Edgar Award-winning "The Science of Sherlock Holmes."
Created many tie-in properties, such as official ones with CBS’s “Criminal Minds” and PBS’s “History Detectives” and unofficial ones such as Jim Brady’s Hero of the Pacific (published alongside HBO’s “The Pacific”).
Avon Books
Directed Brandon Tartikoff’s fiction imprint until his passing.
Created Post Road Press, a history imprint.
Captained “Team Nonfiction,” a five-member editorial group that commissioned more than 30 titles in all genres and formats.
Also captained “Team Health,” a similar group that built the foundation for the imprint WholeCare.
Coordinated all tie-in publications, repackaging existing titles and commissioning novelizations.
Handled books in every format and every genre except romance.
Portfolio
Stephen has 9 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Responsiveness
Henry S.
Aug, 2023
J L.
Feb, 2022
Henk J.
Jan, 2022
Brent M.
May, 2021
Noone H.
Jul, 2020
Sign up to read more reviews
Create a free Reedsy account to connect with Stephen and thousands of other publishing professionals on Reedsy.