Katherine Don
Developmental Editor
Katherine Don is a journalist and author or co-author of eight nonfiction books, including Power of the Dog from St. Martin’s Press, Armchair Reader: The Book of Myths and Misconceptions from Publications International, and The Story of Harper Lee, a YA biography of Harper Lee from Morgan Reynolds Publishing. Katherine’s essays and journalism have appeared at Salon, The Atlantic online, the Huffington Post, and elsewhere. She is a regular contributor at Bustle.com and Romper.com. Her first screenplay, a short film that she co-wrote with a friend, was the first-place winner in the screenwriting category at the 2014 Los Angeles Movie Awards. Katherine holds a bachelor’s degree in biological anthropology from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in literary journalism from NYU.
AREAS OF SPECIALTY
Narrative nonfiction, academic works, books of journalism, essay collections, memoir, health/wellness, book proposals, and other nonfiction book projects.
AVAILABLE FOR
Manuscript critiques, content editing, developmental editing, query letter editing, and private writing coaching.
“Katherine Don is a Book Saver! From assessing my manuscript, to developmental editing, to getting my book proposal and query letters done and more, Katherine’s skill, wisdom, care and hard work made all the difference in the birthing of my book, Shut It Down: Stories from a Fierce, Loving Resistance. With the book proposal I worked on with Katherine, I heard back from my publisher within a few hours! I honestly don’t think I would have gotten it published without her. Even as I write this, I’m pretty sure Katherine will be cleaning up my typos and grammar! Her generosity, kindness and good humor made working together a joy. I am so grateful the stars aligned and we got connected on this project. I strongly recommend her and I am sure you will be as thrilled as I was to work with Katherine.”
– Lisa Fithian, social justice activist and author of
Shut It Down: Stories from a Fierce, Loving Resistance
“Katherine did an amazing job with my manuscript. She helped put the story in a cohesive, beautifully organized format that retained my voice while making my message clear and authoritative. Katherine held my hand during every step of the process from idea creation all the way to making the finest editorial adjustments. I would recommend anyone who is struggling to form a message that cuts through the clutter to work with Katherine.”
-Jovanka Ciares, author, speaker, wellness expert
jovankaciares.com
“I had the privilege of working with Katherine on a book of investigative journalism that took years of research, reporting and writing. Katherine’s help in both research and editing was invaluable. While working on a first draft that was overflowing with too much information, Katherine’s perceptive edits helped me wrangle the narrative back into shape. She’s a sharp thinker with a keen editorial sense of a book’s bigger picture, and she’s also a delight to work with. I highly recommend her to any writer who’s serious about improving their book.”
-Kathryn Joyce, journalist
kathrynjoyce.com
“I hired Kat to help me during my initial awkward attempts at adapting my screenplay into a novel. Luckily, Kat is an expert in both scriptwriting and literary prose. She was instrumental in helping me finish my first novel, giving me much needed deadlines along with a series of organized manuscript critiques that detailed where I was going wrong and exactly how to fix it. I highly recommend her to writers looking for expert feedback, editing and guidance that yields results.”
-Caroline Flarity, writer (New York City, NY)
carolineflarity.com
"Katherine upped my writing game substantially with her developmental edit of Unspeakable Grudges, a crime fiction novel. Her manuscript critiques ferreted out the weaknesses, and she offered suggestions to improve the narrative. I highly recommend Katherine to writers for her fresh eye, keen intellect, and guiding hand."