Anita Diggs

Past

Senior Editor at Avalon/Thunder's Mouth Press
Features Editor at Vanguarde Media Inc./Savoy Magazine
Senior Editor/Director of One World Books at Random House

Editor at Warner Books/Div. of Time Warner Inc.
Senior Publicist at Warner Books/Div. of Time Warner, Inc.
Publicity Manager at Plenum Publishing Corp.
Publicist at Penguin Books
Publicity Assistant at Ballantine Books

see less...

5 more...

Education

Gotham Writer's Workshop
State University of New York - System

Recommended

8 people have recommended Anita

Connections

180 connections

Industry

Publishing

Websites

Anita Diggs’s Summary

I'm a real wordsmith with substantial experience in helping writers travel the road from book idea to actual publication. Interested in working with people who will do whatever it takes to realize their book dream.

Anita Diggs’s Specialties:

*Manuscript Evaluation
*Ghostwriting
*Book Proposal Evaluation
*Conceptual, structural, and line editing
*Developmental Editing (Fiction, Memoir, Pop Culture, etc)
*Book Doctor

Anita Diggs’s Experience

Senior Editor

Avalon/Thunder's Mouth Press

(Publishing industry)

November 2004 — 2007 (3 years)

Solicited, evaluated, acquired and edited manuscripts. Managed trafficking of each manuscript through the entire production process. Negotiated book deals with agents. Presented upcoming titles to sales force. Worked closely with the Marketing, Sales, Art and Production departments. The company went out of business in June 2007.
Noted projects acquired/developed and edited: BARACK OBAMA IN HIS OWN WORDS by Lisa Rogak, BILLY JOEL: The Biography by Mark Bego, THE DEVIL & DAVE CHAPELLE by Professor William Jelani Cobb, THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT: Two Years and Twenty Minutes Inside Biosphere 2 by Jane Poynter, THE MESSAGE: 100 Life Lessons From Hip-Hop’s Greatest Songs by Felicia Pride, GOLF HEAVEN by John Andrisani, MONEY SHOT by Lawrence Ross, TIME TRAVELER: A Scientist’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality by Ronald L. Mallett, EDDIE KRUMBEL IS THE CLAPPER by Dito Montiel, WE GOTTA HAVE IT by Esther Iverem, THE LABEL: A Biography of Columbia Records by Gary Marmorstein, Reese Witherspoon: The Biography by Lauren Brown, SAFE TRIP TO EDEN: A Guide to Greening Your Patriotism by David Steinman, EATING FIRE, TASTING BLOOD: Breaking the Great Silence of the American Indian Holocaust by Marijo Moore, WHEN RAP MUSIC HAD A CONSCIENCE by Tayannah Lee McQuillar, THE KENNEDY FAMILY ALBUM: Personal Photos of America’s First Family by Linda Corley with Forward by Senator Edward Kennedy
Features Editor

Vanguarde Media Inc./Savoy Magazine

(Publishing industry)

2003 — 2004 (1 year)

Edited articles and special sections, generated ideas and worked closely with journalists to create content for monthly magazine. The company went out of business in December 2004.
Senior Editor/Director of One World Books

Random House

(Privately Held; Publishing industry)

2000 — 2004 (4 years)

Directed the One World Books imprint: Directed the entire range of marketing strategy and activities for One World Books. Worked closely with the publisher, authors and editors, and with the heads of sales, advertising/promotion and publicity. Solicited, evaluated, acquired and edited manuscripts. Managed and maintained a backlist of 100 active titles. Managed trafficking of each manuscript through the entire production process. Negotiated book deals with agents. Presented upcoming titles to sales force.
Noted projects acquired/developed and edited: INNER CITY MIRACLE by Judge Greg Mathis, FREEDOM IN THE FAMILY by Tananarive and Patricia Due, GROWING UP X by Ilyasah Shabazz, BILL CLINTON AND BLACK AMERICA by DeWayne Wickham, BACK IN THE DAY: My Life and Times with Tupac Shakur by Darrin Bastfield, THE BEST OF EMERGE MAGAZINE by George Curry, GRACE by Elizabeth Nunez, SATISFY MY SOUL by Colin Channer, BITTERSWEET by Freddie Lee Johnson III, DON’T BELIEVE YOUR LYING EYES by Blair Walker and DISCRETION by Elizabeth Nunez
Editor

Warner Books/Div. of Time Warner Inc.

(Publishing industry)

October 1999 — August 2000 (11 months)

Solicited, evaluated, acquired and edited manuscripts. Managed trafficking of each manuscript through the entire production process. Negotiated book deals with agents. Presented upcoming titles to sales force. Worked closely with the Marketing, Sales, Art and Production departments. • Created, edited and published Renaissance: The African American Newsletter from Time Warner Trade Publishing, which had a controlled circulation of 5,000.
Noted projects acquired/developed and edited: CONVERSATION WITH THE MANN by John Ridley, BLACK SILK: An African American Erotica Collection by Retha Powers, YET A STRANGER: Why Black Americans Still Don’t Feel at Home by Deborah Mathis and SOMEONE TO CATCH MY DRIFT by Jacqueline Powell.
Senior Publicist

Warner Books/Div. of Time Warner, Inc.

(Publishing industry)

October 1997 — October 1999 (2 years 1 month)

Designed publicity campaigns for both fiction and non-fiction titles. Wrote press releases, press kits and pitch letters. Cultivated relationships with national, regional and local media. Pitched and scheduled TV, radio and print placements. Collaborated with booksellers to organize author events. Planned and managed author tours. Handled all books produced in the joint venture between Time Warner and the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Notable Publcity Campaigns: A KNOCK AT MIDNIGHT: INSPIRATION FROM THE GREAT SERMONS OF REVEREND MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. by Martin Luther King, Jr, Peter Hollorand and Clayborne carson, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Clayborne Carson and CHARISMA: SEVEN KEYS TO DEVELOPING THE MAGNETISM THAT LEADS TO SUCCESS by Tony D'Alessandra.
Publicity Manager

Plenum Publishing Corp.

(Publishing industry)

May 1992 — March 1997 (4 years 11 months)

Designed publicity campaigns for academic press. Wrote press releases, press kits and pitch letters. Cultivated relationships with national, regional and local media. Pitched and scheduled TV, radio and print placements.
Publicist

Penguin Books

(Publishing industry)

November 1990 — May 1992 (1 year 7 months)

Designed publicity campaigns for both fiction and non-fiction titles. Wrote press releases, press kits and pitch letters. Cultivated relationships with national, regional and local media. Pitched and scheduled TV, radio and print placements. Collaborated with booksellers to organize author events. Planned and managed author tours. Managed interns and temporary employees to ensure work was completed accurately and on time. Notable publicity campaigns: ALL THAT GLITTERED: My Life with the Supremes by Tony Turner, THE LITIGATION EXPLOSION by Walter K. Olson and VANISHING ROOMS by Melvin Dixon.
Publicity Assistant

Ballantine Books

(Publishing industry)

October 1989 — November 1990 (1 year 2 months)

Performed administrative assistant duties for two publicists. Wrote press releases, organized mailings and maintained accurate media lists.Worked on fiction and non-fiction titles. Noted Independent Projects: HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION AND OTHER MIDLIFE MUSINGS by Susan Allen Toth.

Anita Diggs’s Education

Gotham Writer's Workshop

Screenplay Writing 2007 — 2007
State University of New York - System

Communications

Additional Information

Anita Diggs’s Websites:

Anita Diggs’s Interests:

Television Production

Anita Diggs’s Groups:

PUBLISHED BOOKS

The Other Side of the Game (Kensington Books; 2005)

A Meeting in the Ladies Room (Kensington Books; 2004)

A Mighty Love (Kensington Books; 2003)

Barrier Breaking Resumes and Interviews (Times Books/Random House; 1999)

Staying Married: A Guide For African-American Couples (Kensington Books; 1998)

Talking Drums: An African-American Quote Collection (St. Martin's Press; 1995)