Photo by Mindy Myers
I started editing professionally in 2003 while still a student at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. I kept it up part-time while in school and in the year afterward when I worked at the wonderful International Writing Program, and became a full-time editor in 2005. Since then I’ve worked with hundreds of writers in nearly every genre, I’ve collaborated on and ghosted books and book proposals, and I’ve cultivated relationships with dozens of the top agents in the business. The Writers’ Workshop taught me a great deal about the creative work of writing, but it was working as an editor and collaborator that taught me everything about the business side of publishing. As a writer with experience on both sides of the desk, I’m uniquely qualified to help you make your work a creative and commercial success.
I have a B.A. in English literature and philosophy & religion, an M.Div. in theology, and an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. I've also done fiction-writing courses through the Harvard Extension School and Boston's Grub Street Writers. I've judged fiction contests, read for AGNI and The Iowa Review, and every now and again, published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in literary journals and on the Web. I'm happy to report that after several years away, I've just starting writing fiction again.
I live in Des Moines with my husband and two small children, where my husband is a tenured professor of philosophy at Drake University.
If you have further questions or would like more information, I'd love to speak with you. Please contact me at catherine@catherineknepper.com to set up a phone appointment.