Welcome to Chris Roerden's Author Page

Chris Roerden, native New Yorker, has edited over 1000 manuscripts in her 45-year career in publishing. Authors she's edited won 22 awards, including an Agatha for best first novel, and have been published by St. Martin’s, Midnight Ink, Berkley Prime Crime, Viking, Walker & Co., Rodale, Intrigue, Perseverance, Oceanview, and others.

Her own Agatha is for best nonfiction for DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY, her 10th book, which also finaled for the Macavity and Anthony. Her publisher asked her to expand it for all writers. DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION then finaled for ForeWord Review's Writing Book of the Year and received the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Award for literary criticism and Florida Writers Royal Palm Book of the Year.

Chris most enjoys presenting writers' interactive workshops, 300+ so far in more than 125 cities, including Calgary and Seoul. She earned an MA in English and a BA summa cum laude, taught writing at U-Maine (Portland) and SUNY's Empire State College, and served as president of Wisconsin National Organization for Women--all while raising two feminist sons. When they left for college she returned to full-time editing, also ghostwriting freelance and teaching evenings at U-Wisconsin (Milwaukee). Past president of MAPA, a Midwest trade association of 250 commercial and university presses, Chris is also a long-time member of Sisters in Crime, Publishers Marketing Association, Mensa, and Mystery Writers of America (6 years on MWA's SE regional board, receiving its Magnolia Award). She chairs the MWA/Helen McCloy Scholarship Program for 2010 and 2011.