MCWW News and Literary Triumphs

Just Confirmed: Critically acclaimed local author Kao Kalia Yang will lead a memoir mini-workshop for MCWW on July 24th, 6-8pm. See Upcoming Seminars for more information!

Ashley’s short piece on Minnesota Hotdish will appear in the September issue of Relish.

 

 

 

 

                      MCWW News

 

MCWW Literary Triumphs

A Dozen Invisible Pieces and Other Confessions of Motherhood by Kimmelin Hull

 

Ashley had the good fortune to work with talented writer Kimmelin Hull when she was putting together her memoir of motherhood (three children under the age of four!), A Dozen Invisible Pieces. Over the course of a few months, Ashley  edited Kimmelin’s manuscript and they worked

Dance Lest We All Fall Down by Margaret Willson

 

While working for Penguin, Ashley acquired and edited an anthology titled Fat: The Anthropology of an Obsession. The author of one of the most

engaging pieces in the book came to Ashley with a book project she was working on, about having started a nonprofit for underprivileged girls in Brazil’s Bahia state. At that time, Ashley was un-

Able to acquire the book for Penguin. A couple years later, when Ashley had left Penguin to work

on her second book and to freelance edit, the author, Margaret Willson, came to her with the book, determined to finish it and get it published. Ashley gave the manuscript a comprehensive edit (twice!) Very soon after editing was completed, Margaret published her book. It is a remarkable story of a remarkable woman (though she’d never say this of herself) who has made an enormous difference to girls who would otherwise not have had an opportunity to escape the grip of poverty in Brazil. Her organization, Bahia Street, is thriving, and her book is doing well. Far more than just a story about how a nonprofit was born, Dance Lest We All Fall Down takes readers into the very heart of Bahia. You will come to love the people you meet in this book, the vibrant culture of Salvador, Bahia, and Margaret’s wry humor.

 

closely together to identify and remedy structural issues and other areas of the manuscript that needed attention. The result is this wonderful book, published by Cold Tree Press. In it, Kimmelin Hull becomes an instant friend on the page. Her candor about her own experience as a mother raising three children under the age of four; her feelings about motherhood, about giving up a career to stay at home, then starting up a new business; about the joys (and occasional indignities) of being a mom; societal expectations of and assumptions about women; marital and mental health issues; and more all combine to create a great read, which provokes lots of laughs along the way.

As an editor at Penguin, Ashley Shelby acquired and edited numerous books, many by first-time authors. As a freelance editor and teacher, she has had the privilege of working with and editing several writers who came to her with hopes of publication, and who saw those hopes realized very soon after having their work edited. As time goes on, we hope to add more MCWW-affiliated authors to this list. Maybe you’ll be next! (This page is under construction—more books to be added!)

 

The books discussed can be ordered directly from Amazon by clicking on the book jacket.

More triumphs to be added soon!

Invention Analysis and Claiming: A Patent Lawyer’s Guide by Ronald D. Slusky

Renowned patent lawyer Ronald D. Slusky came to Ashley with a proposal for a book on invention analysis and claiming, designed especially for patent lawyers. After Ashley  helped to shape, order, and edit the proposal, Ron sold his book to the American Bar Association publishers.  It was published in 2007 and continues to sell briskly.