Hi, I’m Lizzie, an editorial professional and translator with a decade of experience shepherding projects from manuscript to award-winning finished book. Previously senior editor at Coffee House Press, I joined Transit Books as editor and rights manager in 2023.
Based in the Chicago area, I’m recognized throughout the industry as a nimble, warm, and energetic literary citizen and a devoted advocate for innovative prose, poetry, and translation. I provide services including translation, developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, proofreading, project management, manuscript coaching, translation mentoring, and more.
Freelance Translator
2014—present
Since 2014, I’ve been translating prose and poetry from some of the foremost writers at work in the Spanish language today, including Juan Cárdenas, Elena Medel, Valeria Luiselli, Pilar Fraile, and Daniela Tarazona. My translations or cotranslations have been nominated for the PEN Translation Prize, the American Book Award, and the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction, and longlisted for the National Book Award for Translated Literature and the Dublin Literary Award.
Transit Books
2023—present
I acquire and edit fiction and nonfiction; collaborate with the cofounders to lead the planning of seasonal book publishing programs—coordinating editorial, marketing, publicity, and development efforts to schedule, launch, and execute season lists; manage foreign rights; and advocate for our authors nationally and internationally. I carry out the full range of house editorial duties on several books per year: structural and line edits, author support, cover briefs, catalog copy, endorsement requests, etc.
Coffee House Press
2015—2023
I worked in various editorial roles, played an active part in shaping the future of Coffee House’s prose list, and championed dozens of projects by writers including K-Ming Chang, Karen Tei Yamashita, Tom Comitta, Aurora Mattia, Rikki Ducornet, Valeria Luiselli, Alia Trabucco Zerán, and others. As senior editor, I oversaw the editorial and production department, contracted and closely collaborated with freelancers and series editors, and managed a team of three.