Leigh Saffold has spent the past 20 years editing and managing books for Blue Pen Agency, Chronicle Books, Ten Speed Press, Parallax Press, UH Press, and the Collective Book Studio. She has experience in categories including alternative health, art and gift, food and drink, literary anthologies, company biographies, mindfulness, memoirs, and more.

Leigh took a circuitous path into book publishing. After graduating from UC Berkeley in Comparative Literature, she started her first career as an elementary school teacher. Her love of writing naturally led to developing K-12 curriculum, and eventually to journalism, where she wrote news for the local NPR affiliate station. She went on to pursue a master’s degree in Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Hawai’i. There she won the literary publishing fellowship and spent four years learning the artistry and grace of editing before moving back to her hometown of Oakland, California.