Position/Organization: FinePrint Literary Management

With over twenty years in the publishing industry, Laura Wood was most recently Associate Publisher of Council Oak Books, an independent book publisher, and previously was Manager Merchandising for Barnes&Noble.com. Hired as the Science & Nature Editor, this position evolved into buying in the categories Science & Nature, Reference, Home & Garden, and Science Fiction & Fantasy. Laura has experience at a range of publishing houses from the Harmony Books imprint of Crown to Duke University Press and Columbia University Press where she still gets a kick out of being quoted, based on her editorial letter, in a book by the Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Roald Hoffmann. Laura holds a Master’s Degree in Publishing Studies from New York University. Her Master’s thesis explored the market for serious trade nonfiction. Early in her publishing career she was an assistant at the Conde Nast publications Vogue and Glamour. Before that Laura studied at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London. One of her life goals is to be known as the dancing science editor.

Laura specializes in serious nonfiction, especially in the areas of science and nature, along with substantial titles in business, history, religion, and other areas by academics, experienced professionals, and journalists. Laura enjoys hanging out with scientists and academics in general and believes in bringing their findings to a wide audience.