After nearly 20 years in the publishing industry, most recently as a senior editor at Atria Books, Sarah Branham launched Sarah Branham Editorial in March 2016. SBE is a boutique editorial services agency specializing in thoughtful, detailed conceptual and line editing, book doctoring, and consulting in the areas of memoir and literary and commercial fiction, including mystery/crime/suspense, historical, book club, and women's fiction.

Sarah joined Atria in 2001 as an assistant editor. During her many years at the Simon & Schuster division she acquired and edited a number of bestselling and award-winning authors, including Janet Mock, William Kent Krueger, Lisa Jewell, Ashley Hay, Paul Cleave, MJ Rose, Hollye Jacobs, Ronlyn Domingue, Abigail Tarttelin, Sahar Delijani, and Ellen Hopkins. Prior to that, she worked in the publicity departments of W.W. Norton and Dutton.

A native Texan, she discovered her inner New Yorker—and her love of book publishing—after attending the Radcliffe Publishing Course in 1996. She has spoken on numerous panels and led workshops at the NYU Summer Publishing Institute, San Diego State University Writers’ Conference, Young to Publishing Group, and the Ventana Sierra Advanced Writers Workshop. In 2015, she was a guest editor at the Sydney Writers Festival, as a part of the Australia Council for the Arts’ Visiting International Publishers program. She is a member of Women's Media Group.

Sarah lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

“I couldn't have asked for a more giving, dedicated and insightful editor than Sarah Branham. She shepherded me through the editorial process of my first memoir Redefining Realness with such care and enthusiasm, and received my words (and my worries) with an empathetic ear. Sarah pushed me to dig deeper, sharpen my prose, and widen the scope of my memoir without ever changing my voice or mission. I couldn't recommend Sarah more highly!” –Janet Mock, producer, director, transgender rights activist, and author of the New York Times bestseller, Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More

“I think it’s safe to say, I would have never been able to write my first book without Sarah Branham. From start to finish, she held my hand through what could have been an overwhelmingly daunting experience. With thought-provoking queries, much needed edits, and gentle time management pushes, Sarah elevated my work to a level I didn’t know I had in me. She has an outstanding way of presenting honest feedback, without judgement, that empowers and motivates writers to dive deeper into the work. Her kind heart is felt with every note, and her expertise is reflected on every page. I couldn’t recommend Sarah Branham more, and I wouldn’t imagine writing another book without her.” -Lisa Schwartz, actress, comedian, and author of Thirty-life Crisis: Navigating My Thirties, One Drunk Baby Shower at a Time

“Sarah Branham is my idea of an ideal editor. Every book of mine that she has worked on - and she has worked on many - has been vastly improved by her creativity, sensitivity, insight, and her amazing ability to make sense of my mess of a manuscript. As both a developmental editor and line editor I can honestly say she is second to none.” -MJ Rose, New York Times bestselling author of Cartier’s Hope

“Sarah is professional, kind, and uplifting, but realistic and unafraid to give the kind of constructive advice that helped propel my work from novels of suspense to stories offering much more in terms of character development and overall depth. Sarah is sharp, passionate, committed, sincere, and has a keen eye for honing in on areas that need additional work or revision; you couldn’t ask for more from an editor! She’s a true pleasure to work with.” –Christine Carbo, national bestselling author of A Sharp Solitude

“It was pure chance that led me to Sarah, and I couldn’t be more thankful. Part proofreader, part therapist, she was a champion for my work at Atria and has pulled me out of the weeds as a freelance editor. With unflinchingly encouragement, she has a laser-like ability to see what a manuscript needs, and what it could stand to lose. Hers are the eyes I want on my work, the opinion that I seek out, before I feel confident to show it to a larger audience.” –Katherine Preston, author of Out With It: How Stuttering Helped Me Find My Voice and the novel, The Camofleurs

“Sarah provided exactly what I needed—a professional set of eyes, a range of editorial suggestions (rather than prescriptive notes), and a clear path of how to move forward with my manuscript. After I addressed her notes and completed another revision, my novel found a home with a publisher. I'm grateful for her editorial guidance and helping me to write the best novel that I could.” -S. Kirk Walsh, author of The Elephant of Belfast

“In the years I have been writing novels I have never worked with another editor as wise, as caring, as brilliant and as hard-working as Sarah Branham. She has elevated my work to a whole new level, based on her deep understanding of literature and of humanity and destiny. Sarah Branham is unequaled in the world of writing.” -Mike Bond, national bestselling author of Goodbye Paris

“Consulting with Sarah Branham was one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made. Sarah took my nonfiction book proposal and manuscript to the next level, polishing and shaping both so that they attracted not just one, but three offers for agent representation. Two offers for publication came not long after. Sarah is not only an experienced and exceptionally talented professional; she’s also a lovely person to work with.” -Kim Jocelyn Dickson, author of The Invisible Toolbox: The Power of Reading to Your Child from Birth to Adolescence

“I came to Sarah as a first-time author in need of guidance through every step of the process - I didn’t even know what I didn’t know! Sarah helped me structure and write a compelling proposal, and leveraged her network to get it in front of the right list of agents. Thanks to her I successfully signed on with an agent and subsequently signed a deal to publish my first book!” -Kate Eberle Walker, author of The Good Boss

“If you are only as good as the people you work with, everybody should want to work with Sarah. Her creative direction always made my story better and my characters more interesting. Working with her was the most fun I’ve ever had as a writer. Her “Yes, and…” approach was perfect for me as a first-time novelist. If you are looking for lots of attention to detail and a true creative partner, you must hire Sarah. I am so grateful she took on my project.” –Dominick Maiolo, author of The Deathruptcy Option

Bernadette Agius, Mike Bond, Sally Christie, Paul Cleave, Armando Lucas Correa, Kim Jocelyn Dickson, Karen Essex, Katrina Firlik, Suzanne Guillette, Susie Hara, Matthew Hart, Margaret Klaw, Shana Mahaffey, Katherine Preston, MJ Rose, Liesl Schwabe, Lisa Schwartz, Joanell Serra, Abigail Tarttelin, Danielle Trussoni, Alexi Venice, Kate Eberle Walker, S. Kirk Walsh

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison
The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue
The Railwayman's Wife by Ashley Hay
Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin
Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani
Joe Victim by Paul Cleave
Bright and Distant Shores by Dominic Smith