David O’Neill: writing coach, editor,
and author.
I have been an editor at Bookforum since 2008.
Good news: we’re back!
When the magazine briefly closed in 2022, our work was covered in the New Yorker, the New York Times, New York magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. There was also an outpouring on Twitter.
Please note that this is my personal website. If you want to contact Bookforum, use this link.
My writing has appeared in Affidavit, Artforum, Bookforum, 4Columns, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Yorker’s Page-Turner, the Paris Review Daily, and the Times Literary Supplement. I’ve taught writing at the School of Visual Arts, the New School for Social Research, and Catapult. I’m a professional writing coach at the Gilliam Writers Group and a developmental editor and collaborative writer with Idea Architects. I was an associate editor of Jason Moran’s LOOP magazine and an archivist at the ACLU.
At Bookforum, I’ve edited Jesse Barron, Johanna Fateman, Molly Fischer, Sheila Heti, Chris Kraus, Lauren Oyler, Charlotte Shane, Jeff Sharlet, Rachel Syme, and Jennifer Wilson, among many other authors.
I have more than a decade of experience as a freelance editor of art books, book proposals, essays, interviews, novels, pitches, and query letters. Get in touch to discuss your project!
Let’s work together:
Coaching
As a writing coach, I put decades of experience as an author, editor, book proposal doctor, and ghostwriter to work for you. Each program is tailor-made for the individual student, with a combination of feedback, readings, discussions, and a custom-designed writing routine that will introduce stability and accountability into your practice. To get started, email me.
Editing
Put my expertise to work on your essays, book-length manuscripts, reviews, memoirs, pitches, and book proposals. I work for individuals and institutions. Read some work I’ve edited here.
Writing
I write essays about fiction, photography, contemporary art, archives, film, music, memoirs, and more. You can read some of my clips here.