Vanessa Aguirre, Editor at St. Martin's Press

Vanessa Aguirre is an Editor at St. Martin’s Press. Prior to landing at SMP in 2021, she held internships at both adult SFF and children’s publishers, as well as a senior editor role at Hugo-nominated magazine Strange Horizons. She hails from Texas and is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she originally studied clinical psychology before realizing she could follow her passion for stories (and the people who create them) into a career.

Her background in psychology and speculative fiction informs her taste in books: above all else, she loves to be transported, whether that’s to a cozy magical tavern or the dark, twisty interior world of a character who fascinates. In editing, she always strives to make sure an author’s work reflects their best self. English was her second language, and she recognizes the beautiful power of words as vehicles for connection—for the author, for the editor, and for the reader!

Currently living in the New York area, Vanessa enjoys watching horror movies, exploring museums, making book playlists, and introducing everyone to her cat named Frog.

Work with Vanessa

LIVE Meetings: Meet face-to-face, from home. Choose Zoom, Google Meet, or phone, and speak for the appointed time about your query, first page, and/or first ten pages (for longer meetings). Does not include written notes, but is a chance to have an honest discussion about your work, and to ask follow-up questions. International meetings welcomed.

WRITTEN Critiques: Get detailed, thoughtful notes on your work. Comes with large-scale edits (character, world, plot, tension, concept, conflict, and similar as needed) in an editorial letter and small-scale, line-by-line notes as needed (for longer critiques, an average of three per page). Work arrives in your inbox by the date on the calendar.

HYBRID is a live meeting at the appointment time, with written notes.