Mark Weinstein
WRITER / EDITOR/ CONSULTANT
I've acquired and edited more than 400 books over twenty-plus years as an editorial professional.
In the course of seeking out and publishing those projects, several of which became national bestsellers, I've read and evaluated thousands of book proposals.
My areas of specialty are sports and fitness, though I also have experience acquiring and editing in the areas of health, self-help, memoir/biography, history, pop-science, pop-business, reference, parenting, cooking, and children's.
I am currently available for freelance developmental editing, proposal writing and evaluation, ghostwriting, co-authoring, and editorial consulting projects. Contact me to learn how I can best be of service to you.
About Me
I’m a book editor, writer, editorial consultant, and sometimes performer living in New York City.
As an acquiring editor for The Lyons Press, McGraw-Hill Trade, Skyhorse Publishing, Rodale Books, and Diversion Books I’ve acquired and edited more than 400 books, the majority of which were on the subject of sports and fitness. I have had the good fortune to work with such notable authors and sports figures as Roger Kahn (The Boys of Summer), Coach John Wooden, legendary boxing trainer Angelo Dundee, basketball wizard Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, champion marathoners Grete Waitz, Dean Karnazes, Frank Shorter, and Meb Keflezighi, golf immortal Gary Player, surfing and fitness icon Laird Hamilton, wrestling Hall of Famer “Diamond” Dallas Page, MMA superstar Chael Sonnen, MLB Network analyst Bill Ripken, and many others. Currently, I serve as SVP/Editorial Director for Kevin Anderson & Associates, for whom I lead a team of a dozen editors.
As a writer, my work has appeared at Deadspin, MSG.com (Madison Square Garden), and in the pages of Athletes Quarterly, for which I served as a contributing editor. I am the co-author (with Elliott Kalb) of The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time (2009) and I contributed the epilogue to the first North American paperback edition of Argentine soccer god Diego Maradona’s autobiography, Maradona (2011, 2020). More recently I ghostwrote Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof's book, The Wim Hof Method, which became an international bestseller in the Fall of 2020 and has since been translated into more than twenty languages. I also contributed writing to Olympian Apolo Ohno's most recent book, Hard Pivot, which published in 2022.
I’m also the creative force behind the comedy/tribute Twitter feed Pele Out of Context, a photo-driven endeavor that seeks to shine a light on the absurdity of celebrity. I also (far less frequently) edit Bluenatic.com, a New York Giants blog that has been quoted by The New York Times and linked to by some of the most prominent sports blogs on the internet.
For twelve weeks in the Spring of 2008 I co-hosted a weekly hour-long sports talk radio show on Neighborhood Public Radio, broadcast in affiliation with the Whitney Biennial.
From 1998 to 2009 I wrote, recorded and performed with the hip hop-hybrid musical outfit Regenerated Headpiece, releasing three full-length albums and performing more than 100 dates. Regenerated Headpiece’s third album, The New Animal, featured two collaborations with the inimitable Chuck D of Public Enemy and was praised by Robert Christgau, the dean of American rock critics, in his 2009 Consumer Guide. Lately, you can find me improvising with the free-form musical collective Eli & The Mannings and featuring on Headsnack’s recent solo debut, Secret Handshake.
I’m a 1997 graduate of the University of Michigan and live on the East side of Manhattan with my twelve-year-old daughter, Ruby.
20+ YEARS. 400+ BOOKS.
HERE ARE SOME RECENT HIGHLIGHTS:
What Doesn't Kill Us
Scott Carney, 2017
Pop-Science/Investigative Journalism
A New York Times bestseller, What Doesn't Kill Us traces our evolutionary journey back to a time when survival depended on how well we adapted to the environment around us and explains how we can reclaim our lost evolutionary strength.
Meb for Mortals
Meb Keflezighi, 2015
Prescriptive Sports
A New York Times bestseller, Meb for Mortals distills the running, training, and nutrition wisdom of the only person in history to win the New York City Marathon (2009), Boston Marathon (2015), and an Olympic medal in the marathon (2004).
Peak Performance
Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness, 2017
Self-Help
Recipient of the 2018 Audie Award for best business/personal development audiobook of the year, Peak Performance combines the inspiring stories of top performers across a range of capabilities—from athletic, to intellectual, to artistic—with the latest scientific insights into the cognitive and neurochemical factors that drive performance in all domains.
Earl The Pearl
Earl Monroe with Quincy Troupe, 2013
Sports Memoir
Earl the Pearl retraces NBA legend Monroe's life from his upbringing in a tough South Philadelphia neighborhood through his record-setting days at Winston-Salem State, to his NBA Rookie of the Year season in 1967, his tremendous years with the Baltimore Bullets and ultimately his redemptive, championship glory with the New York Knicks. The book culminates with a revealing epilogue in which Monroe reflects on the events of the past 40 years, offers his insights into the NBA today and his thoughts on the future of the game he loves.
