Dr Andrew Hodges | Developmental Editor: Cultural Anthropology & Fantasy/Horror/Queer Romance

I’m a developmental editor who works on cultural anthropology, ethnographic, and fiction manuscripts (especially fantasy, horror, and queer romance: YA through to commercial and literary).

My cultural anthropology editing website: The Narrative Craft

My fiction editing website: Second World Editorial

I’ve consulted as a developmental editor on over fifty books, along with hundreds of book proposals, journal articles, short stories, and query packages. I also run workshops on editing and publishing at universities across Europe and at editor and writer conferences.

Academic clients I’ve worked with have gone on to publish with leading university presses, including Cambridge, Stanford, Indiana, Minnesota, Bristol, CEU, and Toronto, among others.

In fiction, I'm interested in character-driven novels, and my tastes and experience range from YA to literary. I especially enjoy fantasy, horror, and LGBTQ+ fiction. I also work occasionally as a sensitivity reader.

Earlier in my career, I line and copyedited around sixty titles, including books published by Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Pan Macmillan. Projects have included novels by New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors, Hugo Award finalists, and a fairy tale collection by a Nobel Prize in Literature nominee.

Please reach out if you are a scholar or speculative fiction author with a project. I'm also happy to hear from publishers in need of developmental editing or sensitivity reading. I’m not available for light copyediting or proofreading work.

Selected Credentials:

• Published academic monographs with University of Toronto Press and Routledge, and fiction with the magazines Asymptote Journal and Foofaraw.
• MA (Cantab) from University of Cambridge (Clare College) in Natural Sciences, specializing in History & Philosophy of Science, Technology, and Medicine
• PhD from University of Manchester in Social Anthropology
• Club Ed Developmental of Editing of Fiction Certificate
• Advanced Professional Member of the CIEP 
• University of Chicago Graham School: Introduction to Developmental Editing (A Grade)
• C2 Certificate in Croatian-English translation and Goethe C2 German certificate

Testimonials

Thanks to Andy's great editorial skills, quick turnaround time, and going the extra mile to read my work, my monograph gained immense praise from authorities in the field.

—Talal Mohammad, St Antony's College, University of Oxford

I have worked repeatedly with Dr. Hodges on scholarly manuscripts, and each project has been a huge success. His editing skills are tremendous! His meticulous eye for details and his scholarly background make him my favorite editor.

—Dr. Pavel Brunssen, Heidelberg University

Andrew's detailed review crucially supported me in making decisions about how much and which work I was ready to do on the proposal and what publishers would be suitable. Within two weeks of revising the proposal based on his feedback I got two major UK university presses interested in reviewing my manuscript!

—Dr. Leandra Bias, University of Bern

Working with Andy made my debut novel better, and the results in distribution and reviews prove it. Sound feedback, a great partner in the process, and a push in the best direction.

—Nathan Wagner, Historical Fantasy Author

Andy was a pleasure to work with, responsive, quick, and thorough in his feedback. His critique and suggestions have definitely helped me improve my novel and to deepen the story I wanted to tell.

—Robert Winter, Fantasy Author

• Editor

• Anthropology
• English as a second language
• Humanities
• Sociology
• Speculative fiction

• Academics
• Book publishers
• Creative agencies
• Indie authors
• Research institutions

• Editorial training
• Translating
• Writing
• Book coaching