About Patricia
Photo by Bill Kontzias
My background spans more than two decades in publishing, including senior editorial leadership roles at some of America’s most respected houses. Today I bring that experience to working with clients as an editor, book doctor, and collaborative writer to shape memoirs, novels, and works of narrative nonfiction that resonate.
I’ve loved storytelling for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I imagined myself as an investigative journalist—someone driven to ask questions, follow threads, and get to the truth of a story. That impulse still guides my work today.
I’ve worked on projects ranging from debut novels to bestselling memoirs, including Quincy Jones’ autobiography and the biography of Fred Rogers. I formed Brooklyn Books to focus on the part of publishing I value most: working directly with writers to shape meaningful, lasting work.
After starting my career as a temp at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, I went on to become Editor in Chief at Doubleday, holding senior editorial roles at Little, Brown; Hyperion; and Viking Penguin along the way. I also oversaw the Vintage Contemporaries fiction series at Random House. Books I edited and published have received the PEN/Hemingway Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Award.
I’m especially drawn to memoir and fiction, but my interests are wide-ranging—pop culture (with a special love of music), politics and current affairs, and life stories of all kinds. My personal essays have appeared in Literary Hub, CrimeReads, Publisher’s Weekly, The Rumpus, Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, and Brooklyn Noir 3.
A member of PEN America and the editorial collective 5E (see 5eeditors.com), I live in Jackson Heights, Queens, in New York City.
Areas of Specialty:
Teaching
Publications
• Publisher’s Weekly
• Brooklyn Review
• Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing but the Truth (Akashic Books)
• Dorothy Parker’s Ashes
– “The Gentleman Rapist”
– “Swindler’s List”
– “Banana Face”
– “Can I Help You?”
Patricia Mulcahy offers editorial and co-writing services to authors and publishers, combining on-the-page guidance with marketing and sales instincts honed in a long career as a publisher.