Marlene Adelstein
madelstein@aol.com (845) 687-7224
SpecialtiesCommercial and literary fiction: mysteries, thrillers; women’s fiction, comic, historical; young adult. Memoir, nonfiction proposals, screenplays.
Profile
Marlene Adelstein is a professional book and screenplay editor with over twenty years’ experience in publishing and feature film/television development. She was a feature film and television development executive for twenty years, working for such top Hollywood production companies as Wind Dancer Films, The Zanuck Company, and The Samuel Goldwyn Company. She worked on Rush, Driving Miss Daisy, Rich in Love, Love! Valour! Compassion!, and Mystic Pizza, among others.
Just a few of the book projects Marlene has worked
on as a freelance editor include The Art of Social War by Jodi Wing (Harper), The Lost Diary of Don Juan: A Novel by Douglas Carlton Abrams (Atria Books), Finding Angela Shelton by Angela Shelton (Meredith Books), Pilate’s Wife by Antoinette May (Morrow), Ill-Equipped for a Life of Sex by Jennifer Lehr (ReganBooks), Legally Blonde and Family Trust by Amanda Brown (Dutton), and Losing Julia by Jonathan Hull (Delacorte).
Marlene’s short stories and personal essays have been published in Upstate House magazine, Prima Materia, Mars Hill Review, and the Madison Review. She has been awarded writer’s residencies at The MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Robert M. MacNamara Foundation, and Helene Wurlitzer Foundation.
As a patient, understanding, and thoughtful editor, Marlene will work closely with you to get your novel, nonfiction book proposal, or screenplay into its best shape before you submit to agents or editors. She offers thorough, constructive critiques, advice on the material’s commercial potential, and agent referrals when appropriate.