Alethea Spiridon was an editor for Harlequin Books in Toronto for almost seven years, working with writers such as Bobby Hutchinson, Roberta Gellis, Lori Foster, Cathy Yardley, Lori Wilde, Jill Shalvis, Anne Stuart, and Pamela Morsi to name a few. Alethea joined Entangled in 2011. She enjoys a fresh, fun, flirty voice, and anything that can make her laugh and see the lighter side of life. That being said, she’s also drawn to contemporary alpha male stories and lush historical romances. As a freelancer through her company www.freelanceeditor.ca she has edited all genres of books in every category from finance to philosophy, fiction and non-fiction, magazines, websites, academic titles, and textbooks. 

A warm welcome to Abby Muller, associate editor at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, where she acquires fiction and narrative nonfiction. She has edited titles including Made in China by Amelia Pang and the forthcoming Pump by Bill Schutt, Clean Air by Sarah Blake, and Off the Edge by Kelly Weill. She reads widely, but has a particular soft spot for well-researched nonfiction about culture or language, as well as for character-driven narratives and for fiction that blurs genre boundaries. She has been spending quarantine baking sourdough bread like everyone else and learning to embroider.

By: Skylar Shoar

I’ll begin this post by saying what I always tell my critique partners: all opinions are my own–choose to take from them what you believe will enhance your work.

What is a critique partnership? Why do you need it? How can you get one?

These are all great questions, and every author, especially new or aspiring writers, should aim to know the answers. 

Why?

A warm welcome to Elizabeth Stranahan, Associate Editor at Crown Books for Young Readers, a division of Random House Children's Books. Elizabeth is interested in young adult and middle-grade fiction that is character driven, filled with banter, and challenges readers to life’s big questions, as well as middle-grade nonfiction that makes complex concepts accessible and relatable. At Crown, she has worked with New York Times bestselling author Nicole Williams, Elle McNicoll, whose debut A Kind of Spark was a Blackwell Best Book of the Year, YA thriller writer Alexa Donne, and the Smithsonian Latino Center among others. When not tending to her email, Elizabeth can be found catching up on the latest gymnastics competition, quilting, and rewatching Derry Girls—occasionally at the same time.

A warm welcome to Erin McClary! 

A warm welcome to Senior Acquisitions Editor Toni Kirkpatrick! Toni began her publishing career at St. Martin’s Press, where she worked for more than a decade acquiring commercial fiction. She joined Crooked Lane Books and Alcove Press in 2019.

By: Alice Baine

Writing is strange. I find it both bizarre and wonderful that we have this indomitable urge to forge stories from our imagination, then graft them into a tangible medium for the enjoyment of random strangers. It makes very little sense, but it’s also something that makes us human. We need to produce art.

This passion consumed me ever since I was old enough to comprehend it. My free time went to pounding words out of a keyboard until they somehow arranged themselves into a completed novel, ready in all its glory to wow the world.

By L. J. Hasbrouck

Many consider writing to be a solitary journey, but it’s dangerous to go alone. Okay, maybe not dangerous, but I’d advise against it. Here’s why.

There’s a massive world out there filled with people like us: creators who want to tell their stories. But telling isn’t enough, as many editors will advise when it comes to your writing. You thought I was going to write something about “showing” here, but I actually want you to share. It’s scary because we’re all afraid other people might not enjoy our work or think we’re talented authors. Maybe you write as a hobby and don’t care about getting your work out there. That’s understandable. But sharing it with other authors, editors, and readers can help you see things you’d likely never see on your own.

Caitlyn Averett is an Assistant Editor at Hachette with Little, Brown and Company/Jimmy Patterson. She’s worked on bestselling series by James Patterson, such as Max Einstein and Middle School, Rebecca Rode’s Tides of Mutiny (9/7/2021), and Maeeda Kahn’s Nura and the Immortal Palace (Summer 2022). She is also a writer and has a background in dance, and when she’s not reading, writing, or editing (which is rarely), she’s probably over-analyzing movies/TV shows or playing with her kittens.

A warm welcome to Pro-Critiquer Jackie H.! 

A warm welcome to Rhonda Penders, Editor-in-Chief of The Wild Rose Press. She and her business partner, RJ Morris, opened their publishing house in 2006 and continue to be the sole owners today. Penders has been on both sides of the query process and brings a special touch of compassion to authors. She believes that publishing is a team effort between the author, the editor, and the publisher.