I had been working on my manuscript for several years and desperately needed an outside opinion on it. There's only so far you can get on your own. Many authors recommended Hannah to me, and I'm so glad. Within days of reading it, she sent me the kindest, most encouraging, most enthusiastic note about the book, and I knew she was the one for me! We decided to move forward with a line edit, and then she dove into the nitty gritty of each scene. It was such a joy to be read so closely and with such empathy and care. There was no moment too small for her keen eye. After that, this novel sold faster than anything I've ever done. 

– Gabrielle Korn (author of Long Island Girls, St. Martin’s Press, 2026, The Shutouts, St. Martin’s Press, 2024, Yours for the Taking, St. Martin’s Press, 2023 and more)

I felt nervous showing a draft of my second book to my agent and decided to share with Hannah first. Her editorial feedback was jaw-droppingly good – she sent me back a report where she had excavated all that was good in the novel and probed into all that could still be done. She discerned themes and motivations that I myself had not consciously grasped, and by bringing them to my attention, helped me understand my own work better, and get it where I wanted it to be. In an industry characterised by rejections and misunderstanding, she affirmed my own inner compass by seeing and validating my art. Her strong and true sense of political integrity became obvious very quickly, and she was able to therefore hold the marginalised parts of me and of the text, which is something I have found to be very rare and hugely valuable. I’m so grateful.  

– Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi (author of The Centre, Gillian Flynn Books, 2023)

If the job of an editor is to take a piece of writing and help to shape it in the image of the unrealized potential of the person writing it, then Hannah’s work is unparalleled. I’ve worked on over a dozen stories with Hannah, and each time I’m humbled by the level of her effort and care she displays with my writing. By working with Hannah, I haven’t just polished a small set of stories, but become a better writer and thinker. On a practical level, her flexibility with tight turnarounds (along with her professional etiquette) has made her a total joy to work with. I can’t recommend her enough. You would be lucky to take up a sliver of her editing time.

— Caro Claire Burke (author of Yesteryear, Knopf, 2026)

As an editor, Hannah is truly every writer's dream. Not only does she have a keen eye for structure - pacing and plotting - but she also has a remarkably deft touch when it comes to the deeper, more soulful work of writing. With her, writers feel seen. They feel like they have a partner, a collaborator and not just a critic, which is a rare gift in an often isolating craft. Hannah provides clear notes and line edits, and is always happy to do a bit of brainstorming to help a writer realize the potential of a project. I truly believe that any writer would be lucky to have her eye on their work.

— Samantha Shea (author of Marrow, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2025 and literary agent at Georges Borchardt, Inc. New York.)

Quite simply, Hannah is the editor I've always wanted. Big-hearted, deeply kind, and in possession of a searing intellect, they are the visionary thinker and creative counsel I needed. Under their guidance, I was able to reinvigorate a project I’d been working on for years. Each email from Hannah was like unwrapping a gift, one full of thoughtful questions, original ideas, and an attention to detail I’ve rarely experienced. They understood on an almost psychic level what I was trying to do on the page and helped steward me toward the full potential of my story, always mining for tension, conflict, and truth. Hannah's dedication and precision was alive in each correspondence and in every line note. Before working with Hannah, I was on the fence about hiring a freelance editor. It was new to me, and I wasn’t sure how it would work. But this was one of the single best things I’ve done for myself and my writing. To work with them is a dream. They set the bar sky high for what I've come to expect from a reader and editor. They handled my writing with a profound level of attention and care, and I’m still marveling at their poetic brilliance. If you’re looking to make your book or story better, faster, more affecting and more awake, trust Hannah to help you see that through. I’m so glad I did.

– Genevieve Hudson (author of Headfirst, Roxane Gay Books, 2026, Boys of Alabama, Liveright Publishing, 2020, Pretend We Live Here, Future Tense Books, 2018, and more)

Hannah is a dream editor. As both a writer and a teacher, they bring a rare depth of craft and heart to their reading of a manuscript. I've almost never had a reader their equal. They saw my work so clearly and deeply, even on first pass, and then brought such intellect to bear on how to take it to another level. Hannah is generous and warm and quietly incisive. They will expose the weaker joints in your project, but in a way that feels revelatory and charged with possibility. If I could afford for them to read and edit everything I ever write, I would. If you have a project you're struggling with, let Hannah be your guide out of the underworld. I can't imagine an editor who takes better care.

– Meghan Flaherty (author of Tango Lessons, Mariner Books, 2018)

Warm, funny, and super-smart, Hannah is a total dream editor. Her feedback helped me pinpoint exactly what was going on with my novel (at that point in its beginning stages and in a total rut) and clarify where to go next. I was looking for a reader who is queer, experimentally minded, and attuned to trends in writing & publishing, and I feel so lucky to have found Hannah — working with her was such a gift.

— Jenny Fran Davis (author of DYKETTE, Henry Holt, 2023)

No one has done better work with my writing than Hannah did. She has a talent for finding structure at all levels, from beautiful and well-crafted sentences to the overall arc of the story. Her attention to detail and care for the story gave me the feeling that she was highly invested in my work. As a writer, I felt cared for, but she also fearlessly approached the dirty work of finding what was unnecessary. Most importantly, Hannah turned my manuscript into a book.

– Elaina Erola (Society for Cultural Anthropology, Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation)

I reached out to Hannah with a short story that I felt hadn’t reached its full potential. The story had several competing thematic threads—both in the external and internal plot, and hovering in the background through language/atmosphere. Though these threads interacted in interesting ways, ultimately I felt the story needed to decide where to maintain its energy and focus to reach a satisfying conclusion.

With this context in mind, Hannah sent a thorough list of themes she had absorbed after their first reading, which was elucidating for me to see what was on the page and what wasn’t, and prompted me to consider the type of story I wanted to tell. Hannah asked if I was interested in further generative support, which sparked an invigorating conversation about various possibilities and their potential impact, which helped me choose the best route for my characters moving forward.

Hannah is a kind, rigorous, and generous editor who can guide your languishing poem or story out of the doldrums and back on track. I also appreciate her clearly defined payment structure and commitment to offering equitable support to historically marginalized writers. Hire Hannah, you won’t regret it!

– Patty McCrystal (Joyland, Epiphany)

When my press hired Hannah for a "comprehensive edit package" for my debut memoir, it was a dream come true. Hannah is a master editor whose edits are in-depth, thoughtful, and progressive. I was especially impressed at how thorough she is in answering questions on her notes, even after time has passed. She genuinely makes you feel like you have a partner in the process. Anyone would be lucky to get to work with her.

– Michelle Yang (author of Phoenix Girl, 5th Avenue Press, 2025)

I had the chance to work with Hannah at a critical stage in the writing of my novel, ZONE ROUGE. I was on my seventh draft, the work felt stale, and writing felt like a chore. Working with Hannah helped me see my work in a new light. She took such care with my characters and the world I created for them while showing me the places I could sink deeper into the story. She met every deadline we established while providing the type of insight that seems to come with years of analysis.

– Michael Jerome Plunkett (author of ZONE ROUGE: A Novel, Unnamed Press, 2025)

Hannah can see a book's full potential even in its earliest drafts. I recently had the privilege of working with her on readying my manuscript for submission. Questions she raised throughout our correspondence were insightful, integral to the project, and became inquiries in the work itself. Her love for language and style is complemented by her attention to structure and ideas. There are few people I trust more with my first pages. In addition to her editorial genius, she also happens to be one of the kindest humans you can work with in this business. If you get the chance, work with her!

– Katiy Heath (author of FOCUS GROUP ARCHIVES, a column from Catapult)

As an editor, one of Hannah’s many gifts is an ability to look at a story and see right down into the emotional under-current of it. Truly, she identified things about my characters—their needs, proclivities, hang-ups, and intuited how they operate within the greater context of the work, and then showed it to me in a way I’d never seen before. It was like a curtain lifting to reveal an entirely new side of the story’s world, coupled with insightful, sensitive guidance on where, precisely, to manipulate the boundaries of that world. She possesses a great analytical power. Hers is exactly the kind of eye you want on your work.

— Justine Champine (author of Needle Lake, The Dial Press, 2025 and Knife River, The Dial Press, 2024)

Hannah deftly guided me as I worked to transform academic case studies into a narrative collection of essays full of compelling characters and scenes. Her wise developmental edits gave me the confidence to venture outside of my comfort zone, and her intuitive grasp of the subject of the collection helped me articulate more joy (and heartbreak) throughout it. Hannah offered feedback that helped me to see the beauty and complexity of my characters, and she showed me how to write that onto the page. Her detailed line edits and suggestions about restructuring were also exactly the feedback I needed to break through feeling stuck in different parts. I am so grateful for Hannah’s wisdom and kind, encouraging feedback, and I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking editorial support. 

– Marie Berry (Associate Professor, Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs)

Hannah is a dream to work with. Her editing process teases apart the themes and threads of your writing and gives language to what you might be unable to name. She is attentive, detail-oriented, and, best of all, intuitive––a truly poetic editor. I'd trust her and treasure her input on any of my writing.

– Kyle Lucia Wu (Win Me Something, Tin House, 2021)

I placed my novel in Hannah's adroit hands when I was looking for an editor who could help me during a later stage of the revision process. She treated my manuscript with such meticulousness, providing notes that weren't overly prescriptive, but instead expertly amended what was already on the page. ("Micromovements," as she put it!) I found her suggestions around pacing and scene-blocking, two skills that don't come as intuitively to me, to be so transformative that I've kept them in mind on my subsequent projects. In a creative world where deadlines frequently float by, her speed and structure — a balm! 

– Dana Liebelson (Ploughshares, Guernica)

Rarely do you find a developmental editor who approaches the work as if mining for gold. Hannah is one such prospector. She helped me unearth gems on the page for narrative relevance and find and eliminate threads that went nowhere. Hannah’s deft eye pointed out key areas where a character needed more than one job in the story, and she suggested restructuring scenes to magnify the tension. My manuscript is better for her care and concern for the story and its potential.

– Robin Gaines (author of Invincible Summers, ELJ Editions, 2016)

Hannah is the editor who helped me finally see myself as a real writer. I came to them with a manuscript I had taken as far as I could alone, and through their developmental edit they gave me extensive, actionable paths to revision and big-picture "growing edges" that I'll carry with me in all my future writing. I'll never forget opening their feedback letter and immediately crying because I felt so seen. Hannah took both my manuscript and me seriously, treating my work with care, rigor, and encouragement. I left this process with a stronger draft and... dare I say... confidence?!! I've never felt so determined to keep going as I did after working with Hannah. 

– Jo Ellen Pellman

Hannah has a rare ability to cut straight to the heart of both sentence and story. Rather than offering prescriptive comments or abstract what-ifs, she focuses on what immediately matters. Working with her gave me a clear path to finishing my novel, and now (as I tackle her edits) I feel energized and hopeful and "alive"—unusual feelings during an extensive revision. Why? Her input was so constructive and essential that I can't help but feel that after this editing process, I will be left with something way more beautiful, true, and likely to be read.

– Remy Smidt (Columbia MFA Graduate, Copywriter)

I’d been lost in my novel for two years and the book looked like I’d been meandering around in it. Messy paths that needed tending. Too many people talking all at once. Hannah stepped in with clarity and grace. She asked questions that helped me develop the characters and the rooms they moved through, and I was able to let some of them go. She suggested restructuring and we chose a new opening, reordered the sequence of events, and exposed motivations and themes. In short, Hannah is an editor who begins a conversation—with the book, with the author—that offers the possibility of transformation. 

– Karen Brown (author of The Clairvoyants, Henry Holt and Co., 2017,The Longings of Wayward Girls, Atria Books, 2013, Pins & Needles, Washington Square Press, 2013, and more)

To call Hannah Beresford an incredible editor would be an understatement. She is also a locksmith. I sent her the first draft of my manuscript and not only did she give me the perfect combination of generous but incisive notes, she gave me a key. The advice she gifted (once I finally committed to following it) has unlocked some of the best, most thrilling, and most rewarding writing of my life. I am forever grateful to have had such a tender, inquisitive, and wildly smart reader of my first foray into prose and memoir. Hannah’s intelligence is just the perfect amount of a few notches smarter than you, whoever you are. She gives just the right amount of herself to foster a sense of intimidation, but never isolation. She sets the bar and shows you how to raise yourself up to it. She is a north motherfucking star.

— Megan Falley (author of Drive Here and Devastate Me, Write Bloody Publishing, 2018, co-author of How Poetry Can Change Your Heart, Chronicle Books, 2019, and A Woman of the World and National Poetry Slam Finalist)

Working with Hannah was the best decision I made for my novel. I was completely blown away by the amount of edits she provided me with, even though I only selected the developmental edit. Each suggestion came with an example from my manuscript, and advice about how to action the edit. She gave me feedback I never would have considered on my own, and provided me with affirmation on the elements of my novel that were successful. My experience working with Hannah gave me the confidence I needed to push through a final round of edits before querying. I’d recommend her to any writer!

– Kim Narby (author of Saturn Returning, Bindery Books, 2026)

Hannah’s edits and comments transformed my memoir. They brought my characters and scenes alive. Plus, Hannah explained the logic for her comments. I learned so much from them. Hannah was also prompt, getting me her comments and edits ahead of schedule. In conclusion, Hannah is a master editor. If they are available, I would jump at the opportunity.

– Craig Montell, Ph.D.  (Science, Nature)

I've worked with Hannah regularly, since 2020, on several portfolios and a poetry manuscript—and I keep coming back. Hannah's feedback is to the point and constructive; her editing always makes my poems tighter, more effective versions of themselves. One of Hannah's great strengths as an editor is seeing and connecting threads that might otherwise feel disparate or hard to see: she has illuminated and helped me foreground themes in my own writing that I struggled to connect to each other, simply by reordering a portfolio. Hannah is a deeply talented editor who always brings warmth and excitement to her projects. She is a joy to work with and I cannot recommend her highly enough.

– sterling-elizabeth arcadia (author of Heaven, Ekphrasis, Kith Books, 2023)

Impeccable communication. Fully transparent process. Insightful high-level notes. Detailed inline comments. Extensive back-and-forth as needed to dig into plot development, character motivation, thematic choices, style and tone, and more. As I continue to work through my manuscript, I’m guided by Hannah’s comprehensive review. I’m also pleased to report that three chapters of my work-in-progress have found homes in literary publications. Bottom line: thank you, Hannah; your editorial excellence took my manuscript to places I couldn’t go on my own.  

– Greg Roensch (author of Lunch with the Alien, 2021, Breakfast with the Alien, 2017, Rickey Henderson (Baseball Superstars), Chelsea House Publishers, 2008, and more)

Hannah helped me understand just how important an editor is in a writer’s process. Her thoughtful questions quickly earned my trust - and that trust opened up an entire world of possibilities for my writing. I felt like I found someone who cared about the project as a whole, while also being so great and sharp with the details of writing: consistency in the pace, grammar, punctuation etc. I can't recommend her enough and I definitely look forward to working with her again. 

– Stella Honorel

Working with Hannah was an absolute pleasure. From our very first conversation, she approached my manuscript with care, bringing clarity and helping me shape the novel’s tone and voice in a way that felt true to my vision. Her editorial process is thoughtfully organized, which gave me confidence at every step. Beyond her edits, Hannah was a generous creative partner—always ready to explore possibilities, spark ideas, and share in my excitement for the work. Her insight, encouragement, and steady guidance made my writing—and me as a writer—stronger.

– Lorne Chambers (owner, editor, and publisher of West Of Free Press and The Folly Current)

Working with Hannah was like shining a light on what had previously felt tangled and dark. She saw in my work the larger meaning I couldn't quite grasp, and helped me pare away and shift material to make that meaning sing. From our first revision to our last, I was blown away by the time, attention and respect she gave my writing. Often, I have felt pushed to sacrifice the poetry of my work for clarity, but Hannah found a way to cohere my essay in a way that drew its lyricism out, rather than erasing it. Quite simply, working with Hannah Beresford was, hands down, the most moving and instructive editorial experience I have ever had.

— Allie Rowbottom (author of Lovers XXX, Soho Press, 2026, Aesthetica, Soho Press, 2023 and Jell-O Girls, Little, Brown, 2018)

Hannah is an editorial maven. She will prioritize your project as a whole, ensuring that it's cohesive and dynamic and structurally fit, and also urge your sentences to do as much as they can. I asked her to read my collection of essays, ones that cover a range of subjects, in a range of ways. I wanted to knit them together more organically, but couldn't figure out how. Hannah helped me find the project's true locus and make thoughtful tweaks. With her encouragement, I even generated some of the material of which I feel most proud. I've joked to Hannah that the manuscript I delivered to her was a basketful of fruit, and that she helped bake it into pie. Which is to say: she turned it into a book.

— Courtney Zoffness (author of Spilt Milk, McSweeney’s, 2021)

I appreciate Hannah for shining their brilliantly insightful and very fine attention on my writing. Hannah helped me further in rendering a gender-non-conforming character with more than just pronouns. Hannah helped me ground scenes and ideas to be more fully realized on the page. Hannah offered these edits with kindness and respect.

– Shelley Marlow (author of Two Augusts In a Row In a Row, Publication Studio, 2015)

Hannahs's work with one of the Fifth Avenue Press authors was truly transformational and we are grateful for her talent and guidance with such an important work! Writing a memoir is already a fraught experience so it was a blessing to have Hannah’s safe guidance on the journey to bringing their story to light. The graceful compassion that Hannah exudes combined with her skillful discernment for structure is a rare and valuable gift and any writer would be lucky to work with her. 

– Erin Helmrich (Fifth Avenue Press)

Hannah's comprehensive edits helped me take my manuscript to the next level. She pushed me to better ground my scenes, and suggested some key cuts that made my essays more powerful. Her feedback, both at the line-level and developmental level, has helped shape my book. I highly recommend working with her.

– Alex Alberto (author of Entwined, Quilted Press, 2024)

Hannah is a phenomenal editor. She recently helped me polish a series of essays for an eventual collection. Her thoughtful notes allowed me to excavate deeper themes, fine-tune my structure, and make connections I hadn’t seen before. I love her intuition, her attention to detail, and the way she gently invites writers to examine their blind spots and take risks in their work. Not to mention, she’s incredibly organized and provided the deadlines, accountability, and encouragement I needed to get each essay over the finish line. I'm so grateful for her wisdom and support.

– Gina DeMillo Wagner  (author of Forces of Nature, Running Wild Press, 2024)

I warmly recommend working with Hannah, whose edits on my short story collection have been essential. Feeling a bit at sea in the world of publishing as a debut author, I sought Hannah out for an additional perspective on my manuscript, and her attention to my work was grounding, illuminating, and just what I needed. Hannah helped me reimagine the endings of a few stories I wasn’t happy with; she also provided an amazingly thorough and satisfying close read on a particular motif I'd been wrestling with, and she helped me reframe a story that felt hard for the reader to follow — to name only a few things our work together helped me resolve. Her insights were always in tune with my intentions for the project; she often located keys to my questions in other parts of the book. My stories are stronger and I’m more confident in them because of our work together, and as I’ve continued to edit my manuscript, I’ve been grateful to be able to return to Hannah for her clarifying perspective.

— Kate Doyle (author of I Meant It Once, Algonquin Books, 2023)

Hannah is a kind and thoughtful reader, and editor. She has the greatest care and attention to detail. It is an edit that will make your intentions feel seen and allow you to see your work afresh.
— Rowan Hisayo Buchanan (author of The Sleep Watcher, Sceptre, 2023, Starling Days, Sceptre, 2019, and Harmless Like You, W. W. Norton Company, 2018)

Hannah is a thoughtful and rigorous editor with a well developed (yet flexible) framework for her editorial process. She began with a dialogue, asking a series of questions to better understand my manuscript and my needs. I came with a lot of baggage that she helped me unpack and sift through, particularly with the sequencing and structure of the first fifty pages. She validated my impulses, and justified them with insights I hadn't considered, and which brought me to tears.

Besides her caring and careful critiques and offerings, she is a champion cheerleader. I felt cared for throughout the process, and have enjoyed her periodic email follow ups inquiring about my progress and sending me welcome encouragement.

– Barrak Alzaid (founding member of the artist collective GCC)

I became aware of Hannah's editing services via recommendation from a writer I trust very much. This trust was extremely well-placed, as Hannah's full comprehensive edit elevated my manuscript in a way I could not have done on my own. Not only did she provide insights that were hidden in my blind spots, but she also boosted my confidence with suggestions on many sections that I had issues with, but hadn't made her aware of. That we were on the same page, enabled me to fully relax and accept her notes as the best plan of action - which is difficult for someone like me who is a bit of a control freak! Hannah is warm and friendly and I truly enjoyed working with her, she treats your work as if it were her own.

– Fern Angel Beattie (author of Seven Women of Saturn, Write Bloody Publishing UK, 2024)

Hannah is skilled, generous, thorough, and kind—truly the dream combination for an editor. She read my manuscript deeply and carefully, offering large developmental ideas to strengthen my story’s plot and smaller grounding techniques to enhance my story’s details. Every note she offered made my story better on a craft level, but even more amazing, her perspective made my story better on a me level. I couldn’t have approached my revision without her, and I will always seek out her feedback in the future. Working with Hannah is a dream.

– Vanessa Friedman (author of HOME: A Year of Love Letters and deputy managing editor at Hey Alma)

I’m just getting started with poetry and wanted to take a course which included feedback. Hannah’s course is flexible and tailored to my needs/writing. She is very approachable and friendly, and offers very helpful feedback.

– Blue Bailey (poet)

Hannah was extremely helpful, professional, and easy to work with. She understood what I wanted to achieve with my manuscript and offered thorough notes and feedback so that revisions were actually an exciting prospect. I found Hannah a pleasure to work with and would gladly recommend Hannah for a novel consultation.

– Trish Bendix (New York Times, TIME)

Hannah read the first draft of my novel and I was looking for feedback to help guide my priorities for the revision. Her correspondence and comments were thoughtful, insightful, and very helpful. I've been referring to her notes as I revise. She's drawn my attention to elements I hadn't considered or noticed and through the process I've learned so much about my manuscript.

– Christina Kelly (Paris Short Film Festival, Lighthouse Film Festival)

I gifted myself Hannah’s 5-Prompt Poetry Course in December 2022, and had a wonderful experience. I took her course during a time when I had several ideas that I wanted to translate into poetry, but was having trouble figuring out how to get them onto the page. Her prompts allowed me to think of new and creative ways to communicate these ideas, and I'm so grateful that I was given this way of unlocking them. At the end of the poetry course, I ended up submitting my work for edits, and couldn't be happier with the final product. I would highly recommend taking a poetry course with Hannah.

– Christina Dimopoulos-Verma, MD (underscore_magazine)

I am so proud to have had the opportunity to work with Hannah on my project Pictures for Charis. Hannah edited one of the earliest and most-unwieldy versions of this book. Her attentiveness to my voice and writing style were kept in tact as she diligently, sensitively, and expertly made suggestions for edits that made my writing more clear, strong, and lean. Working with Hannah was an absolute gift and I look forward to working with her on future projects.

– Kelli Connell (author of Pictures for Charis, Aperture, 2024)

Working with Hannah was one of the greatest gifts I could've given myself during the process of editing my debut memoir. I felt seen, held, and understood—invaluable qualities in any author-editor relationship—but beyond that, Hannah challenged me in the very best ways, fluidly guiding me towards a fuller embodiment of my own artistic potential. With thoughtful precision, profound sensitivity, and a poet's eye for language, metaphor, sensory detail, and paratactic resonance, Hannah elucidated vital aspects of my project that I hadn't yet been able to see clearly, then articulated those aspects in a concrete way that made immediate sense to me. She possesses a unique ability to usher a piece of writing into its most effective form without ever sacrificing the author's vision, integrity, or idiosyncratic style. She helped my project become somehow more itself, honing it shrewdly and elegantly while preserving—with the utmost care and grace—its beating heart.
– Annabel Graham (Vogue, Wall Street Journal)

Hannah was recommended to me by a friend during a time when I was thinking of hiring an editor for short stories in my collection that were feeling stagnant and having trouble finding a home (being published). I am immensely grateful for said recommendation. My experience with Hannah was like no other. She took the time to not only analyze my work but to discuss with me what it was that I was trying to achieve before making line edits. That collaborative conversation provided a deep edit that aligned with my particular style and process. Hannah’s approach provided that validation I needed to jump back into editing. A piece she edited was placed for publication within a few months. I plan on working with her again and again and again!

– Melissa Ximena Golebiowski  (Catapult, Lit Hub)

The hardest part of working with Hannah was psyching myself up to fill out an inquiry–it meant saying to myself, "yes, I'm writing a book." But Hannah took my writing and goals seriously, listened, and provided thoughtful feedback that was both gentle and critical. Communication and planning was a breeze. In writing, I'd struggled seeing the forest for the trees, but Hannah helped me step back and consider the big picture. It was a very collaborative process. Afterward, when I was excited to dive into revision, it was reassuring to know Hannah would be there as a continued support.

– Jaime Zuckerman (author of Letters to Melville, Ghost Proposal, 2018 and Alone in this Together, Dancing Girl Press, 2016)

Hannah is an absolute dream editor. Her ability to understand and elevate a writer’s voice without compromising the core essence of it is what really sets her apart from the rest. I reached out to Hannah to edit several short stories for a story collection. Much like a therapist, you want to make sure an editor is a good fit and I could tell from our early correspondence that she was thoughtful and perceptive and really paid attention to my goals. Her notes were always so detailed and filled with insights and connections I hadn't made myself. I truly felt seen, which was as important to me as her excellent structural revisions and line edits. As a writer herself, she knew how vulnerable I felt about sharing my work and offered herself more as a collaborator than a critic. It felt like we were on the same team and she cared as much about my project as I did. She also gave me a sense of accountability—a rare gift for any writer. She provided clear notes, line edits and deadlines, and her enthusiasm motivated me to be more productive. Her guidance was like a lifeline to me, and her kindness and mentorship tricked me into actually enjoying the editing process. For that, I’m forever grateful.

— Nada Alic (author of Bad Thoughts, Vintage Books/Knopf, 2022)

For years I have known Hannah as both a powerful writer and a thoughtful reviewer, which is why I have sought her help as I put together my first manuscript. Both encouraging and discerning, Hannah gently suggests ways to make the writing clearer, stronger and more truthful. Though she does not hold back, I never feel overwhelmed or frustrated by her notes—just eager to go back to the work and make it better. She is the second set of eyes you need when you have spent too much time alone with your writing. What’s more, Hannah always gets her notes back to me in a timely fashion. I am always impressed and grateful, because I get to keep my momentum, one of an artist’s most valuable tools. It also does not hurt that she is a lovely person and so, that much easier to work with! I highly recommend her services.

— Daria-Ann Martineau (Founder of PRINT (Poets Reclaiming Immigrant Narratives & Texts), Narrative)

Reaching out to Hannah was the best choice I've ever made for my writing. When I was lost in the weeds of a very personal memoir project, Hannah untangled the mess of memory dump my manuscript had become so I could see it for the narrative I hoped it could be. She has an extremely fast turnaround time, but the care and attention she gave every page of my draft and every question and concern I had about my manuscript made me feel like I was her only client in the world. Her editorial suggestions and tips have led me to finish a book that I am proud of, and will continue to lead me, as I learned so much from her. She has an incredible eye for structure, poetic edits, and such a kind and encouraging attitude. Hannah's fee is the smartest money I've ever put into my writing practice.

— Sammi LaBue (author of Words in Progress, DK Books, 2020 and founder of Fledgling Writing Workshops, NYC)

I have known, admired, and trusted Hannah for nearly a decade. First of all, she is one of the most talented writers I know. I immediately, humbly fell in love with her gracefully mastered words when I first read her poems in 2012. Second, she is a dearest friend, editor, and mentor who has supported me emotionally and intellectually through some of the most difficult years in my writing career. She is there when I feel alone. She cheers me on when I need some lift. Most importantly, she challenges me to see my blind spots, stretch my perspective, and trim my language so that it is lean and ready to leap out from the page.

— Ivy Liuyu Chen (Co-founder of TransWords Translations LLC)

Hannah has the incredible ability to see through a manuscript to its core and tease out what it wants to be. Her direction helped give me a new language and set of questions with which to understand the purpose of my book. She has an impeccable understanding of craft from the level of each word, to each sentence, and to the entire manuscript. Seeing my work through her lens has given me renewed purpose and drive for my manuscript, illuminating the art within it, something that I had come to doubt after so many rounds of revision. I know I'll turn to Hannah in the future when I need a fresh read and path forward.

– Ella Mei Yon (Glimmer Train, Pigeon Pages)

Hannah Beresford is one of the best editors I've ever worked with. She'll fix your structural problems, she'll fix your sentences, she'll fix your life. She is a Writer Whisperer.

— Shelly Oria (author of New York: 1, Tel Aviv: 0, FSG, 2014 and editor of Indelible In The Hippocampus: Writings From The Me Too Movement, McSweeney's, 2019 & I Know What's Best for You, McSweeney’s, 2022)

It’s something special to have your work read and considered by Hannah. To say she looks at your fiction with “new eyes” would be an understatement; instead, she looks at it with eyes that are keen to find the most compassionate course for your story. She distills it down to its core and sends it back to you with a map to help you excavate the humanity in every character.

— Kells McPhillips (author of AthleteLit, a short story series about athletes)

I had the joy of working with Hannah on a short story collection and an essay collection in 2021. Hannah’s insight—in a developmental consult and line edits, for fabulist fiction and personal essay—pierced through to the heart of each story. Her feedback fully embraced my vision and voice while offering clear, dynamic solutions to elevate each individual piece and the arc of each manuscript. Hannah handled my work with great care and with her guidance I’m confident that I’ll be sharing the best possible evolution of these stories.

– Katie Li (author of Somewhere In Between, Kung Fu Girl Books, 2016)

Hannah brings a calm commitment and clarity to working with you. Her process is tailored toward your project and includes a close read like that of a publisher or an agent. Expect the following: an overview, targeted remarks, thought provoking questions and the potential of “re-ordering” an essay. Her wide lens of observation on your material works in tandem with her dexterity to home in on the micro matters of: narrative tension, structure, details that matter versus those that clutter, undeveloped scenes, grounding exposition, and more. In feedback notes, to avoid confusion in tricky and/or paramount sections, she places practical track changes in the document to illustrate her advice. A big jewel Hannah gave to my work was in the rearrangement of narrative threads that I, too preciously, had been holding onto. She did so, by providing me with a master class on ‘ratio and order’ where I better understood symbolic scale and the distribution of ideas. Hannah’s goal is to get your work published, not left in a drawer.

— Yvonne Conza (Los Angeles Review of Books, BOMB)

Hannah's manuscript consultation was just the right blend of positivity and thoughtful criticism. She worked quickly and thoroughly, culminating in a written document and conversation that provided me with a global sense of what was and wasn't working in my novel, how best to move forward, and what questions I could use to guide the project. Her feedback gave me new perspective, helping me see the book from a reader's perspective, which was invaluable. After working with Hannah, I was left feeling excited to tackle the next draft.

— Kristin Sanders (author of Cuntry, Trembling Pillow Press, 2017)

The first word that comes to mind when I think of Hannah as an editor is generous. She read and edited my first book manuscript, which I had never shown to an editor before, and gave me such thoughtful and constructive feedback. She has made me a better poet and thinker; her approach to my work taught me so much about looking at familiar things as if they are new and strange, entirely in a good way! Sometimes as writers we get too close to our own work to properly see it, and Hannah's feedback helped me see my manuscript in a fresh and newly excited way. My book would not be nearly as cohesive without Hannah's wise editing.

— Annie Diamond (Yemassee, Tar River Poetry)

Working with Hannah was a delightful experience of softness when so much of the publishing world is so hard-edged. She is an editor interested in collaboration and understanding what a writer needs and wants for a piece, and she’s a person who clearly cares for writers as much as she does for our work. I felt held in my conversations with Hannah and in her comments on my pages. She helped me to uncover the overarching areas of the manuscript that were difficult to parse, and she made clear suggestions to remedy the writing—including guiding advice on nearly every page to ensure ease of revision. I would work with her again in a heartbeat.

— Afton Montgomery (Stain'd, Sugar Magazine)

Hannah is every writer's dream reader and editor—incredibly thoughtful, thorough, and whip-smart. After years of feeling stuck on my manuscript, she helped breathe new energy into my revision process, enabling me to see what needed to be done to strengthen both story and structure. Never prescriptive in her feedback, she takes the time to understand a writer's intentions before offering actionable advice on how to best align with them. She's kind, patient and a true delight to work with.

— Jane Rose Porter (The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal)

Hannah's edits are brilliant on the level of line, story, and deep subtext. All the writing she touches, she elevates. She'll take your writing to places you didn't know it could go.

— Jon Lindsey (author of BODY HIGH, House of Vlad, 2021)

This is why Hannah Beresford is a great editor:

She will help you go from aspiring writer to published writer. Working as a professional editor in the indie publishing industry, she has an eye for what editors who are on the "buy" side need to see to say yes. She is as honest as she is enthusiastic. If she agrees to take you on, you will have someone in your corner who will help you shape your work the way only a seasoned editor can. Her ability to help prepare a document for its journey in the world is worth the investment.

— Kirsten Major (The New York Times, Catapult)

Hannah helped me over a period of a year to find my voice in poetry writing. She has a great ear, and showed me much about how a poem’s sounds carry or impede its message. Hannah attends to detail. She took the time to deeply read my work and prepared thoughtful, dignified, useful recommendations. Most of all, Hannah finds the heart of a poem, even, or especially, when the poet is laboring to do so.

— Catherine Martinez (artist and owner of Laughing Dragon Studio)

I came to Hannah with a messy first draft of a memoir I'd been trying to finish for years. In that first consult, Hannah gave me a path forward and a renewed enthusiasm for the work ahead. Together, Hannah and I mapped out a plan for revisions and a timeline that has helped me stay focused. I look forward to Hannah's emails and her thoughtful and detailed suggestions. Her feedback is concise yet expansive, from big picture insights to the smallest line edit. It sounds crazy, but even the words Hannah uses when offering feedback have helped me see my manuscript with fresh eyes and that small shift in perspective has made a world of difference. It is hard to put into words what an impact Hannah has had on my manuscript-- and my writing life. I no longer feel like I am writing into a void, but instead to a wise and trusted cohort who respects my work as much as I do.

— Kelly Harwood (Quaint Magazine, Detours Anthology)

A good editor helps an author fine-tune sentences, but a great editor like Hannah Beresford discovers every note and chord you’ve been fumbling for. She makes your story sing. A careful reader and whip-smart editor, trust your writing to Hannah Beresford.

— Chad Miller (Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art, Cosmonauts Avenue)

Hannah Beresford has been an encouraging, perceptive, and supportive editor for me. When I first contracted with her for help preparing individual poems for an eventual chapbook submission, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My friends, acquaintances were generally receptive readers for my work, but I needed feedback from someone who was not a friend, not beholden to me in any way but who also had the critical skill to read poems with an eye for strengths, as well as for disjunctions, failures of clarity, musical infelicities, effective or ineffective lineation, etc. Hannah is just such a reader. She has helped me to see my poems as uninvolved others, editors of journals, readers unfamiliar with me might see them, and the effect has been salutary. Through her I have learned to see my work with increased objectivity. At the same time, I have learned to feel confident that my work is worthwhile. I want to offer my wholehearted recommendation of Hannah as a supportive and skilled editor.

— MacGregor Frank, Ph.D. (North Words anthology (National Poetry Foundation, Orono, ME), The Magnolia Review)

Hannah Beresford has the rare talent of seeing a story not for what it is but for what it can become. In working with my words, Hannah was able to move and shape the story with such care and insight that I could not have asked for it to land in better hands. It is a true gift for a writer to have the pleasure of Hannah's guidance on your work.

— Natalie Teal McAllister (Glimmer Train, SmokeLong Quarterly)

Hannah Beresford has a keen eye for what’s taking place on the page. Her editorial skill helped me become a better writer. She hones in on the areas of a poem that might be improved. Her suggested edits that are spot on. My poems sparkle a little more because of what I learned from her while she was my poetry coach/teacher.

— Emily Moon (author of It’s Just You and Me, Miss Moon, First Matter Press, 2020)

I trust Hannah's expertise as a writer and value her ideas as a reader. She brings encouragement to the editing process, taking care of each project like it is her own.

— Stephanie Gresham (Entropy, Winner of the Pigeon Pages 2024 Essay Contest)