Amy Gash Editorial

“Amy Gash helped me reenter a new novel after fourteen years away. I had been going through an extended period of self-doubt and loss of faith in the publishing ‘industry’—not unlike many of my writer friends. I wasn’t sure that I would ever write an adult novel again. I needed an impossible combination of encouragement and criticism, a guide I could trust to support me through my stumbles while also hold me to my best. To renew my faith in myself, in writing, in publishing. Patience and persistence and passion—Amy gave her all. Knowing I love poetry and use it as string in the labyrinth that is writing, she would send me poems that helped open possibilities in what I was writing, as if she were planting clues, without being directive, as to where I might consider going. Amy works intuitively and collaboratively, asking the right questions, as invested in your work as you are. She is also—and this I’ve found rare in editors—willing to learn from her writers, to change her mind in some cases—always in the interest of what’s best for your book. She provides that necessary perspective of seeing the forest when you, the writer, are lost among the trees: balancing the needs of your ideal with that ideal book in your head which doesn’t always match what’s on a page. With her as my editor I ended up with a better book than the one I ever believed I could write. Oh, and did I mention, she’s delightful, so smart, funny, and fun to work with? I recommend Amy as the best friend an evolving novel could have, which is what every writer longs for when they write.”
—Julia Alvarez, National Medal of Arts recipient and author of In the Time of the Butterflies, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Afterlife, The Cemetery of Untold Stories, and others

“Amy Gash was my editor at Algonquin for 20 years. I’m immensely grateful for the care she took with each book. I’m thankful for her never wavering support, perceptiveness, humor, and most of all, her kindness. Any author would benefit from her editing and humanity. Often subtly, she would guide me toward greater clarity and when needed, brevity. So I’ll keep this brief: I realized the other day how much I miss seeing her name pop up in my in-box.”
—Richard Louv, Audubon Medal recipient and international bestselling author of Last Child in the Woods, The Nature Principle, Vitamin N, and Our Wild Calling

“Amy Gash is the reason I came to Algonquin Books for Why We Swim. From the moment we spoke on the phone, I knew she was the one for me. A warm, attentive editor who truly loves books and her authors, Amy has a sharp eye for both big-picture meaning and meticulous sentence-level craft. And she’s truly one of the best humans I know.”
—Bonnie Tsui, bestselling author of Why We Swim and the forthcoming On Muscle

“Amy Gash is the perfect editor. She’s smart, experienced, highly skilled, a joy to work with, and endlessly patient and encouraging—an inspiring coach and a loyal cheerleader rolled into one. Her superpower is challenging writers to up their game and craft better stories. Amy edited three of my books of historical true crime for Algonquin Books and each collaboration made me a better writer and storyteller.”
—Dean Jobb, CrimeCon CLUE Award winner and author of A Gentleman and a Thief, The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream, and Empire of Deception

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have worked with Amy Gash on two popular science books. Not only is Amy a brilliant editor, she is kind, patient and easy to talk to—always willing to explain her rationale for suggested editorial changes. Amy is especially talented at paring down long sections of my books and getting the concluding chapters just right. She is also a primary reason why I’ve been able to make complex scientific topics understandable and entertaining to my readers. I could go on, but in conclusion, if you get a chance to have Amy Gash edit your book, run (don’t walk) to sign on with her.”
—Bill Schutt, American Museum of Natural History zoologist and author of Cannibalism and Bite