Founder and Senior Editor Ali McCart
Ali thinks her love for the written word might have something to do with the pungent odor of ink and the methodic sounds from her parents’ printing press, which permeated her senses before she even knew how to read. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Willamette University and a master’s degree in book publishing from Portland State University. She’s written and edited for periodicals in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana and edited for authors and book publishers across the country. She also spent two years as a bookseller and sometimes still itches to create front-of-store displays. When she’s not editing, reading, or sneaking whiffs of local print shops, Ali spends her time hiking with her dog, traveling, and feeding the geese at the park near her house.
Ali's editing specialties: health and wellness, fitness and recreation, metaphysical, how-to, self-help, memoir, and feminist nonfiction books; young adult fiction and nonfiction; short stories; professional documents; newspapers; magazines.
Associate Editor Kristin Thiel
Editing fiction and nonfiction for a variety of clients—among them individual authors, Coffee House Press, Simon & Schuster, HarperOne, the National Youth Leadership Council, Portland State University, and
Bitch magazine—Kristin loves the written word, its playfulness and intricacies, and working with writers to snap each one into just the right spot.
Kristin draws additional editing support from her own work as a writer. Even before she knew how to form the letters of the alphabet, Kristin was "writing," dictating stories to her mom to put on paper. In 2006 she won the Elisabeth A. McPherson Award for Women Writers and in 2007 the Ooligan Editors' Choice short story contest. Her story "Pilgrim for Hire" was published in
VoiceCatcher 2, and she read from it to an audience of almost one hundred at Portland's Central Library. An excerpt from that story is also in the reference book
Don't Sabotage Your Submission: Save Your Manuscript from Turning Up D.O.A.
Kristin signs on here and at
www.kristinthiel.com.
Kristin's editing specialities: adult literary fiction (anything along the magical realism spectrum is of particular interest), adult mystery or thriller
Associate Editor Andrea Deeken
With a B.A. in English and Writing and an M.S. in Writing and Publishing, Andrea brings three years of editing experience to Indigo Editing. She has edited fiction and nonfiction for individual authors, Ooligan Press, Legwork Team Publishing, proofread for
Bitch magazine, and assisted in acquisitions for
The Grove Review,
Ink-Filled Page, La Palabra Café Press, and Redwood Literary Agency. When not editing, Andrea spends her time reading, writing, gardening, and working at the North Portland library. Her writing has appeared in
Periphery,
The Cereal Box Review,
Knotmag, and
The Bear Deluxe. She is currently at work on her first novel.
Andrea’s editing specialties: literary fiction, short stories, and children’s books. She also collaborates with other editors in editing nonfiction.
Marketing Coordinator Adriel Gorsuch
Adriel advocated for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault as an AmeriCorps member after finishing her BA in journalism and marketing communication from the University of Wyoming. Though the work was trying, she was able to explore two passions: effectively communicating to varied audiences and empowering women. The role each word plays in delivering information is astounding. Learning to harness that power for her voice and others is the target of Adriel's career.
Since moving to Portland, gray skies have lulled Adriel into all-day reading of literary fiction, feminist writing, and feature news and magazine stories. In addition to reading and writing, she can be found listening to NPR in her pajamas, collecting unfinished crossword puzzles, cooking with friends, backpacking, snowboarding, and napping outside.
Editorial Assistant Megan Wellman
Megan’s love for words began underneath the branches of her grandparents’ oak tree, where she devoured book after book. A handful of years later, Megan earned her BA in English literature from Western Washington University. After graduation she decided to turn her obsession with reading into a career and began working as an editorial assistant at Illumination Arts Publishing Company in Bellevue, Washington. Currently, Megan is a graduate student in the publishing program at Portland State University. She will graduate this fall. Although her literary tastes have changed from
The Very Hungry Caterpillar to
Jane Eyre, Megan still visits the oak tree from time to time.
Marketing and Editorial Assistant Leah Gibson-Blackfeather
Leah has had an obsessive passion for words since she was very young; she is prone to three a.m. breakouts of creativity which cause her to lose valuable sleep. She is currently a staff writer/proofreader for her school's liberal publication and in the process of developing a freelance writing and editing career to slide into after graduating next spring. Leah has recently become involved in Ooligan Press, which has led to her a disastrous addiction to the smell, feel, and general presentation of books; it has all gone downhill from there. She can now be found in the aisles of Powell's blue room on any given day, madly molesting the spines of books.
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