six books on the lives, careers, and adventures of editors
I don’t know about you, but I love learning about the working processes of other editors. While the variety of so many potential editorial paths can be overwhelming, there’s value in seeing how others approach the craft. Another editor’s point of view can offer new tricks, protocols, and general knowledge worth incorporating into your own editing.
When the documentary Turn Every Page came out in 2022, we got to explore the decades-long collaboration between editor Robert Gottlieb and author Robert Caro. But did you know Gottlieb published several memoirs too? There are more books about editors than you may realize, and each one has a treasure trove of anecdotes and insight into what an editor may want (or not want) to do while working with an author.
Here are five memoirs and biographies—and one book of letters—about prominent editors from the past hundred years, all of whom were also writers themselves. Their careers spanned from 1925 to 2023—all with in-house positions. It’s easy to sigh wistfully, imagining them in what’s often considered the “heyday” of traditional publishing. We may work with very different tools today, but you never know when an insight or constructive approach from their world might offer the fresh perspective that we need! Additionally, behind-the-scenes looks at the book world are always a fun reading venture.
A note on the “great read for editors working in” fields: These reflect the areas each editor was known to have worked in most prominently, but many worked in other fields of publishing, too.
Stet: An Editor’s Life by Diana Athill, 2000
Though she produced one novel and a few short story collections, Athill’s best-known literary works are a series of memoirs, starting in 1963 with the last one published in 2016. Stet is a balance of personal anecdotes about her travels and acquaintances from her time in publishing, detailing her long career as an editor (and founding director) at André Deutsch from 1952 until her retirement in 1993 at age 75. The book gives us a peek into publishing in postwar Britain, and lovers of Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys will appreciate Athill’s particularly detailed account of its writing.
Some famous faces she worked with: Mordecai Richler, V. S. Naipaul, Jean Rhys, Margaret Atwood
A great read for editors working in: In-house, Fiction, Nonfiction
The World She Edited: Katharine S. White at The New Yorker by Amy Reading, 2024
White’s name may be less familiar than others on this list, but for those who knew her, she’s remembered fondly for nurturing relationships with her authors, built on encouragement and honest feedback. As a writer for The New Yorker, she penned numerous gardening columns and maintained an impressive fourteen-year children’s book review writing tenure. She was also married to E. B. White—yes, that E. B. White, of Charlotte’s Web and Strunk and White’s Elements of Style fame. In her biography, Reading traces White’s career from The New Yorker’s fledgling days in 1925 to her retirement in 1961. Readers will find her methods of rejection, which show special sensitivity to the feelings of authors, especially refreshing.
Some famous faces she worked with: Nadine Gordimer, Vladimir Nabokov, Elizabeth Bishop, John Updike
A great read for editors working in: Magazines, Journalism, Nonfiction, Fiction, In-house
The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America by Sara B. Franklin, 2024
Judith Jones is a legendary name in publishing, synonymous with Julia Child and her culinary revelation Mastering the Art of French Cooking. But there was much more to Jones’s story, reaching far beyond cookbooks. Not only did she pluck Mastering from the slush pile, but she also discovered another little book—Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl—where she really made her name. Franklin discusses Jones’s sixty(!)-year career at Alfred A. Knopf, including her subsequent foray into cookery and memoir writing, and concludes with an impressive catalog of the authors she worked with.
Some famous faces she worked with: Sylvia Plath, Anne Tyler, Julia Child, M. F. K. Fisher
A great read for editors working in: Nonfiction, Fiction, In-house, Poetry, Cookbooks, Memoir
Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship by Dana A. Williams, 2025
Toni Morrison is best remembered for her own literary contributions, including modern classics such as Beloved and The Bluest Eye. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that, upon the release of this book, more than one person exclaimed, “She was an editor too?” She was indeed, for sixteen years. Dana A. Williams follows Morrison’s editorial tenure at Random House and details the indelible stamp she left on the publishing world as a champion for the work of Black authors.
Some famous faces she worked with: Angela Davis, Muhammad Ali, Gayl Jones, Lucille Clifton
A great read for editors working in: Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, In-house
Avid Reader: A Life by Robert Gottlieb, 2016
As mentioned in the introduction, Robert Gottlieb held a lengthy editor-author partnership with Robert Caro—five decades, in fact! However, his acclaim went far beyond that. He worked for Simon & Schuster and Alfred A. Knopf before joining The New Yorker, wrote for The New York Times Book Review and The New York Review of Books, and authored several biographies of notable figures, including actresses Greta Garbo and Sarah Bernhardt. His memoir explores a fascinating life where personal interests—including an insatiable interest in dance and handbags—intersected with his professional work.
Some famous faces he worked with: Robert Caro, Joseph Heller, Toni Morrison, Nora Ephron
A great read for editors working in: Fiction, Nonfiction, Journalism, In-house
Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom by Leonard S. Marcus, 1998
Not a biography but still a valuable read, this book of outgoing letters from 1937 to 1982 offers a unique chance to climb inside the mind of an editor who worked with so many authors of children’s classics, making her influence valuable in both sentimental and professional ways. Ursula Nordstrom, who worked primarily in Harper and Row’s children’s literature division, staunchly fought for books that challenged convention. Her correspondence includes letters to literary icons like Margaret Wise Brown, Crockett Johnson, Maurice Sendak, Ezra Jack Keats, Shel Silverstein, and even fellow editor Katherine S. White, to name just a few. These letters reveal juicy backstories behind beloved childhood books that make readers feel like they’re a fly on the wall of Nordstrom’s office, complete with helpful footnotes for context.
A great read for editors working in: Children’s Fiction, Poetry, In-house
Meaghan Steeves is a copy editor and writer based in Nova Scotia. She loves her small dog and spends her free time reading, baking, and watching true crime documentaries. You can find her on her website or on Instagram at @choicewordsedit.
