About
Industry leaders have called Leslie Wells "one of the very best in the business."
Leslie Wells offers editorial services to authors, publishers and literary agents, and first-time writers. As a memoir editor and novel editor, she worked in New York publishing for thirty-plus years, at E.P. Dutton and Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster, and as an Executive Editor at Hyperion. She has edited forty-nine New York Times bestsellers. Leslie is also a member of the 5E editing group.
"I would recommend Leslie for any writer--of fiction or nonfiction--who is looking for a supportive, encouraging, creative and helpfully critical voice."
--Mitch Albom, author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Tuesdays with Morrie, and other bestsellers
With fiction, Leslie helps authors to develop compelling plots, to ensure that characters and dialogue ring true, and to streamline excess material. With nonfiction, she ensures that the narrative voice is strong, the material flows logically, and is highly readable. She helps writers to identify the audience for their books, and how to engage, surprise, and delight those readers. Her goal is always to help authors produce work of the highest caliber.
"Leslie Wells is an insightful editor and generous collaborator who knows how to bring out the best in your writing. Any author would be lucky to work with her. She is one of the very best in the business."
--Adrienne Brodeur, Executive Director, Aspen Words, Aspen Institute; author of bestselling memoir Wild Game
Leslie has worked with novelists such as Mitch Albom (The Five People You Meet in Heaven), Laurie Lico Albanese (Stolen Beauty), Candace Bushnell (Lipstick Jungle), Liv Constantine (The Senator's Wife), and Katherine Howe (The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane), among many others.
She has edited memoirs by Adrienne Brodeur (Wild Game), Julie Andrews (Home Work and Home), Michael J. Fox (Lucky Man and No Time Like the Future), Liz Murray (Breaking Night), and Elyn Saks (The Center Cannot Hold).
Below is a selection of editing projects:
The #1 New York Times international bestseller by Mitch Albom.
Of this highly acclaimed novel the Wall Street Journal said, "Stolen Beauty is a work of art itself..."
By the bestselling author of Sex and the City, Killing Monica, and other novels
Laura Moriarty's luminous, provocative novel about mother and daughters; a national bestseller.
A gripping novel that takes place during the witchcraft trials in Salem: "A captivating thriller of the hidden powers of women throughout the centuries."--Boston Globe
Sarah Pekkanen called The Senator's Wife "another twisty triumph for bestseller Liv Constantine. I devoured this thoroughly entertaining, well-crafted thriller."
"A fast-paced debut novel... Top-quality storytelling for thriller fans."
--Kirkus Reviews
Winner of the AWP Prize for the Novel, and longlisted by the Center for Fiction, Best First Novel. Publishers Weekly called this story of two sisters set in Bombay a "stunning debut".
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award and a Christy Award finalist. A young woman survives the unthinkable in this remarkable novel set in Jerusalem, 70 CE.
Selected Nonfiction:
Julie Andrews' entertaining, beautifully written memoir, a New York Times bestseller
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Slate, the Washington Post, People, and many others.
“Exquisite and harrowing.... so gorgeously written and deeply insightful...that it’s one you’ll likely read in a single, delicious sitting.” --The New York Times Book Review
Liz Murray's New York Times bestselling memoir of going from homeless to Harvard.
The lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers tells his story of addiction and redemption
Instant New York Times bestseller, a memoir by the beloved actor and Parkinsons activist
"A passionate account of the reclamation of the author's life from abuse and shame. An uplifting story of hope..."--Kirkus Reviews
A compelling account of baffling diamond thefts in dazzling midcentury Dallas.
“Deeply researched and fluidly written. It’s quite a yarn.”
– The Wall Street Journal
#1 international bestseller and basis for the award-winning film, Lion
Memoir of Saks' battle with schizophrenia; one of Time Magazine's Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Year
Brittany Maynard's mother describes the last year of her amazing daughter's life
Michelle Knight's harrowing account of being abducted and held captive for a decade
Dr. Phil McGraw's #1 international bestseller