"Jo Ann played a critical role in the shaping of our book and was an essential partner in its success. She has superb instincts...and a keen eye."
--Elizabeth Warren

I have been an Independent Editor and Publishing Consultant since 2008, after three decades as an editor and senior executive in the publishing industry, most recently as VP, Editorial Director of Basic Books.

Among the many award-winning authors I have edited are Senator Elizabeth Warren, historian Stephanie Coontz, scientist Ernst Mayr, psychiatrists Robert Jay Lifton and Irvin Yalom, sociologist Paul Starr, pediatrician and writer Perri Klass, psychologists Howard Gardner, Sam Gosling, Paul Bloom and Jonathan Haidt, and psychotherapists Mary Pipher and Mark Epstein.

I have been privileged to work on books that help shape public debate. The topics range from the precarious state of the middle-class family to the plight of boys in today's culture, from the perils of government programs to the joys of late-life romance, from the origins of autism to the nature of happiness.

For a description of my current editing and consulting activities--which include proposal preparation, book doctoring, and manuscript evaluation--please see Latest Projects.

I have been praised for my collaborative style and especially for the expertise and encouragement I offer first-time authors--including academics who want to attract a popular audience without dumbing down their ideas. As an author myself--The Working Mother's Complete Handbook (NAL), The Parents' Guide to Daycare (Bantam Books)—I appreciate the obstacles and frustrations any writer, novice or pro, must surmount on the way to successful publication. That's why I am deeply committed to applying my professional skills to every project I undertake.

"Jo Ann is wonderful to work with; she's a world-class editor."
--Mary Pipher, best-selling author of
Letters to a Young Therapist and Reviving Ophelia