Shannon Roberts

Editor specializing in manuscript critique, developmental editing,  and line editing for fiction and narrative nonfiction.

shannon 2023

Shannon Roberts has been working as a developmental editor and writing consultant for over fifteen years. She holds a B.A. in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina, where she worked for several years as a writing coach.

Using that experience, she began working closely with The Editorial Department founder Renni Browne in 2008, as an editorial assistant and manuscript consultant. Over the years, she and Renni have edited a lot of debut fiction together, some of which has hit bestseller lists, including the New York Times list.

Shannon is now a busy full-time lead editor with diverse tastes in many genres of commercial and mainstream fiction. She has an especially great love for magical realism, fantasy, and science fiction, including authors such as Haruki Murakami, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, and Ursula K. LeGuin.

When she’s not reading (for work or for pleasure), Shannon enjoys hiking, cooking, and the occasional glass of fine wine. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina.