Wes has mastered the editorial hat trick of: attention to detail, big-picture vision, and a fleck of sorcery. His late author and dear friend Gary Paulsen called their work together “dancing with words,” and, of course, he said it better than I ever could. My front row seat watching them work together on Gary’s final three books was a privilege and a delight the likes of which I shall never see again . . .
—Jennifer Flannery, Flannery Literary
I worked with Wes on two graphic novels (a world I knew nothing about going into) and my first novel (another world I had yet to explore) and I can say definitively that I would not have succeeded at any of it without him. He has the steady energy of a parent, but also the vision of an artist, and the playfulness of a young person. As an editor, he was confident enough to let even me, an inexperienced writer, play, and that trust allowed both my creativity and confidence to grow. Wes became friends with my characters and truly understood them—he wasn’t just editing the world, he joined it. Writing a book is extremely hard, honestly harder than writing a song let me tell you! It takes incredible focus, commitment, and time, but most of all, it takes a great editor. Wes provided all that and more.
—Tegan Quin
Working with Wes is a writer’s dream. Think it’s easy to take a book that won a Pulitzer, cut in half, make it accessible to young adults . . . and make it better? No, not easy at all. But that’s exactly what Wes did. And he made it look easy. He’s a writer’s champion and a hero to readers. A total pro and a lovely human being.
—Jonathan Eig
Wes is a gem of an editor. He helped me and my colleague, Yohuru, to believe in ourselves as writers and gain the confidence we desperately needed to turn our nascent ideas into acclaimed books about civil rights. To call Wes inspiring is an understatement—but deeply true.
—Michael G. Long
Wes is the kind of editor every writer hopes to find and very few ever do. He possesses that rare ability to see not simply what a manuscript is, but what it can become. Our collaboration with Wes deepened across multiple projects, and by the time he paired Mike and me with Jonathan Eig for the young readers edition of King: A Life, there was already a deep foundation of trust. Wes saw the importance of that project immediately and understood the responsibility that came with bringing Dr. King’s story to a new generation. As was so often the case, his instincts were exactly right.
—Yohuru Williams
In the world of children’s publishing, when it comes to editors, Wes Adams is a legend, an icon. We worked together for more than a decade. He edited six of my books—all four books in my Rip & Red middle grade series; A High Five for Glenn Burke, a NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book; and Glenn Burke, Game Changer, a Lambda Literary Award winner. Without a doubt, he made me a better writer. I’m forever grateful.
—Phil Bildner
Wes was one of the first editors to give me an opportunity in the Kid Lit arena. During my time working with him the respect he showed for his craft was second to none, and his openness to collaboration made Glenn Burke, Game Changer one of my favorite projects to work on to date. When I had specific questions about the details of Glenn Burke’s first high five, Wes was the first to jump in and share his wealth of knowledge. I truthfully look forward to the next time we can work together.
—Daniel J. O’Brien
I think Wes probably saved my literary life. On Sawyer Lee, after a lot of writing, I had produced a document that was confused, amply over the word limit, and in approximately 83 other ways unpublishable. He gently cut the whole thing down to the core narrative and relationships, and helped me develop a detailed rewrite, which resulted in a book I’m very proud of. I shudder to think how it would’ve gone in the hands of a less skilled editor.
—Zach Weinersmith
Working with Wes on my debut nonfiction has been a dream come true for me. His passion, dedication, attentiveness, and unwavering enthusiasm for the project were integral to my process. His commitment and integrity are exemplary. I am incredibly grateful I had the privilege of working with him on a book I consider one of my most important contributions to kidlit.
—Padma Venkatraman
It was Wes who made my book The Road to Wherever possible, and to him I am forever grateful. In a pile of pages that were going nowhere he lighted on two minor characters whom he thought were deserving of a broader examination, and he challenged me to see what I could do with them. A year later and he was editing a manuscript that seemed as much a result of his will as my own. He’d shadowed my every move at the keyboard, offering suggestions that were always smart and right, nudging me forward when COVID had me sidelined and afraid that I’d never finish. I marvel at his vision and instincts, and I now recall the experience of working with him as a kind of dream, his voice in my ear, his encouragement pushing me on. Wes has magic in him. What we made is proof of that.
—John Ed Bradley
Working with Wes has been one of the highlights of my career. His incredible depth of knowledge of children’s and young adult literature allows him to situate a book not only in its market context but also in its literary context. I could tell he devoted a great deal of time and care to each project; I was always confident that he understood my characters, their world, their emotional arcs, and the story I was really trying to tell. His editorial insights made my writing clearer, sharper, better. I’m grateful and honored to have had the opportunity to work with him.
—Amanda McCrina
It was a pleasure and honor to work with Wes on Saving Earth; he’s one of the most thoughtful, thorough, and patient editors I’ve known. He is fully committed to creating work at the highest level; his insightful inquiries and support helped me articulate a vision for a challenging project, and made the writing process one of truly joyful discovery. I’d jump at the chance to collaborate with him again!
—Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Wes has a great critical eye and editorial style. His experienced insight and collaborative spirit helped improve my writing to create better storytelling.
—Brian Yanish
I feel so lucky to have had Wes as my editor on the graphic novel adaptation of Tuck Everlasting. What struck me most was his intelligence, his deep understanding of how creators work, and his ability to identify exactly what wasn’t working without being prescriptive about how to fix it, which helped spark creativity for me.
—K. Woodman Maynard
Wes took a chance on me with my debut picture book, Twins, and for that, I will be forever grateful. Over the years, we developed a strong working relationship, and I am thankful for his guidance, collaboration, and support in strengthening my characters and stories, most recently with my two books about Leonard the Ghost and his foolish family.
—Mike Ciccotello
From the start, Wes embraced the vision for my books about two photographs that changed history, the Earthrise image from Apollo 8 and the portrait of Lincoln and his son reading. He is a dream editor: thorough, precise, collaborative, open-minded, and all-in from start to finish. He has a steady hand, and eye for detail, and the soul of a devoted book person. He is the real deal.
—Leonard S. Marcus
Working with Wes has been one of the most gratifying editorial experiences I’ve had in over twelve years of writing and publishing. His wit and charm made the partnership meaningful and personal. But even more importantly, his vision for helping my co-author Norm and me to coax our project into its best self and his ear for fine tuning the line-by-line writing were outstanding. I’d work with him again in a heartbeat.
—Brendan Kiely
Wes is the consummate Editor: always receptive to questions or concerns, provided valuable feedback that was easily incorporated into the manuscript for Sole Survivor, was great with both the big picture and the details, just an absolute pleasure to work with.
—Norman Ollestad
Wes provided one of the most engaged, thoughtful, and thorough editorial experiences I have ever had in nearly thirty years of writing books. To get Reading the Bones right Wes played many roles—perfectly. When rights issues forced us to reshape the book, his insights nailed what it needed to be; when we agreed on drawn images he guided the artist to create—and totally revise—his work to enhance the narrative; as final text emerged he was the apt and attentive line editor. Whether late at night or on a weekend he was there with and for the book, doing everything in his power to get it right. If I had the opportunity I would love to work with him again.
—Marc Aronson
My late husband, Uri Shulevitz, admired and respected Wes, and loved working with him. Wes’s masterful editorial skills, insights, and suggestions were instrumental in shaping his two acclaimed wartime memoirs, Chance and The Sky Was My Blanket.
—Paula S. Brown
I had the pleasure of working with Wes on five YA novels. Our relationship, long by today’s standards, was an eye opener. After the first couple of novels Wes understood exactly where I was coming from, and what it was I probably really wanted to say. I had not experienced that kind of insight from other editors. Most editors are fixers. Wes is an interpreter. He allowed me to bring my novels to full voice and potential. They include the popular Saturday Night Dirt trilogy; Defect, winner of the Minnesota Book Award; and Full Service, starred by Kirkus and described as “pitch perfect.” There’s no better YA editor out there right now. If you get a chance to work with Wes, grab it.
—Will Weaver
Wes’s life continues to be a gift for the book world, and his friendship has been a longtime gift to us.
—Sarah Stewart & David Small
Wes Adams 