My approach to editing

James Baldwin said, “The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions that have been hidden by the answers.” While Baldwin was speaking about what art is meant to achieve once it’s in the world, I believe his insights are also valuable for the writing process itself. In my teaching and editing experience, and in my own writing practice, I’ve found that the strongest writing comes from identifying the questions we wish to write into and then working to make sure our work activates these questions on the page—at the level of narrative, language, and everything in between.

Alongside identifying and illuminating these questions, I will work with you to clarify your own goals and intentions for your work. Do you wish to write a tightly plotted story, or one that intentionally meanders? Are you trying to work on characterization? To be funny, weird, or political? Are you working to figure out where you fit in to the contemporary publishing landscape? I’ll help you think through these questions, and do my best to help you realize your goals.

My background and experience

I am the author of the story collection Hurricane Envy (Rescue Press, 2025) and the novel Dryland (Tin House, 2015), as well as a longtime teacher of creative writing both in (Reed College, University of Oregon, Portland State University) and out (my backyard) of academic settings. I have worked as a developmental editor for fiction and creative nonfiction projects both independently and for The Reading List editorial services agency and as co-founding editor of New Herring Press, where I worked on titles by Justin Torres, Lynne Tillman, Deb Olin Unferth, Bhanu Kapil, and others.