Rob Phelps
2 Hancock St. #1002, Quincy, MA 02171
rsphelps@mac.com • (508) 247-7996
Qualifications
Writer / Editor in Chief / Managing Editor / Content Manager / Copy Editor
Profile
Editor in chief for a regionally distributed magazine and website.
Highly organized writer and editor with proven track record of juggling a variety of publications and other projects with competing schedules.
Arts editor, reviewer, columnist, news reporter and feature writer for New England newspapers, magazines and websites and at Tufts and Harvard universities.
Creative and resourceful book editor who worked closely with authors to develop all aspects (text, art and digital components) of more than 25 best-selling college textbooks across a wide range of diverse subjects — fashion, architecture, interior design, history, anthropology, biography, merchandising and marketing.
Proficient in Microsoft, Adobe (InDesign, InCopy, Acrobat Pro) and related software programs, online content management systems (WordPress, MediaWare) and major style guides (Chicago, AP).
Selected Accomplishments
Magazine (Print and Online) Editor in Chief
As editor in chief for Boston Spirit, New England’s premier LGBTQ magazine, I develop news, arts and lifestyle stories covering a diverse community, manage a team of talented writers, and work closely with our designer and publisher to produce six print issues a year with a circulation of 20,000. I also maintain content for the Boston Spirit website, creating several blog posts each week.
Writer for Tufts University
As freelance writer for Tufts Now and Blueprint for Tufts University I write feature stories on topics including the university’s Common Reading Program, research on military intelligence conducted at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and several major installations at the Tufts University Art Galleries.
University News Office Editor
As editor, writer, copy editor and graphic designer for the Harvard University Office of News and Public Affairs, I wrote news and feature stories, designed and produced pages for the Harvard University Gazette, wrote, managed and edited the weekly Gazette Calendar, copy edited and proofread official press releases for the President’s Office and produced university pamphlets, booklets and other print material.
Newspaper (Print and Online) Editor
As arts editor for the Provincetown Banner newspaper and Gatehouse Media website, I managed a team of more than a dozen staff and freelance writers, covering all types of performing, visual and literary arts. I wrote, assigned and edited stories and columns and maintained the related content management system and social media networks.
Book Editor
As a development editor for Fairchild Books — Condé Nast Publications & Bloomsbury Publishing Group — I have developed more than 25 best-selling college textbooks — many of which are considered the gold standard in their respective fields.
Of particular note (For all titles, please refer to my bibliography below):
History of Interior Design by Professor Jeannie Ireland (Missouri State University) — a 624-page, fully illustrated survey of architecture, interiors and design motifs that stretches from 4500 BC to the present day. I oversaw the completion of this college textbook — from conception through content development to design delivery — within an intense eight-month period.
Tailoring Techniques for Fashion by Milva Fiorella di Lorenzo (Miami International University of Art & Design) — I closely collaborated with this author, whose primary languages are Italian and Spanish, to write and edit this highly detailed college textbook, develop its art program and produce its companion DVD (www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVzgvl.0ycs4).
Diversity in Design: Perspectives from the Non-Western World by Professor Vibhavari Jani, et al (Kansas State University) — I assembled a diverse team of more than 20 authors from Africa, Asia and the Middle East and overcame the cultural, linguistic and geographical barriers to produce this groundbreaking text and its robust art program. Awarded the 2012 IDEC Book Award.
The Rise of Fashion and Lessons Learned at Bergdorf Goodman by Ira Neimark — I developed and edited the text and supervised the photo research and design of this high-profile trade book in close collaboration with the author, a former CEO of Bergdorf Goodman, current Director of Hermès of Paris and adjunct professor of Retail Marketing at the Columbia University Business School.
Sustainable Design for Interior Environments by Professor Susan M. Winchip (Illinois State University) — As editor for the second-edition of a best-selling title, I worked closely with the author to update the book’s content to reflect developments in this rapidly evolving field of study, replaced theoretical analysis with practical application for sustainable real-world designs in the built environment and greatly expanded the art program to make the new edition visually engaging.
Reporter
After conducting a series of 11 jailhouse interviews with a man accused of murder, I wrote a vivid, serialized cover story of his confession to me — “Portrait of a Confessed Killer: How a Life of Trauma Bred a Double Tragedy,” Boston Spirit magazine. As a result of my recorded conversations and articles, I was subpoenaed to testify during his trial, which I also covered for the magazine.
As a reporter for the Provincetown Banner, Harvard University Gazette and Cape Air in-flight magazine, I interviewed and wrote features about some of today’s most colorful personalities, including Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer and John Waters.
My widely read column, “Bel Canto,” which covered the Metropolitan Opera’s live, high-definition satellite broadcasts, appeared in the Provincetown Banner, other newspapers and online through Gatehouse Media.
Professional Experiences
BOSTON SPIRIT MAGAZINE
Boston, Massachusetts (2005–present)
Editor in Chief (January 2020–present)
Develops news, arts and lifestyle stories covering the diverse LGBTQ community throughout New England.
Manages a team of writers while working closely with designer and publisher to produce six print issues each year.
Maintains Boston Spirit website, creating several blog posts each week.
Managing Editor (2015–2020)
Coordinates team of writers to create and gather copy and art for six print issues each year.
Edits and writes articles and captions and formats content for production.
Develops story ideas with editor in chief.
Creates several blog posts each week and maintains website.
Contributing Writer, Photographer (2005–2014)
Writes features, interviews, news stories and biographies of influential New Englanders from high-level government officials and leading medical researchers to avant-garde artists and community activists
Wrote “Portrait of a Confessed Killer: How a Life of Trauma Bred a Double Tragedy,” a vivid cover story that was serialized over two issues of this regionally distributed periodical.
Shot the cover photo for August/September 2006 issue as well as the photographs accompanying my articles.
FREELANCE EDITING & WRITING (SEE BIBLIOGRAPHY BELOW)
Copy edits and proofreads academic and technical publications for:
Tufts University http://now.tufts.edu. Medford, Massachusetts (2015–present)
Amnet Systems (for Palgrave Macmillan) www.amnet-systems.com. Urbana, Illinois
Lachina Publishing Services (for Bloomsbury Publications) www.lachina.com (formerly www.precisiongraphics.com) Champaign Illinois
Storey Publishing www.storey.com North Adams, Massachusetts
Fairchild Book www.fairchildbooks.com New York, New York
Provincetown Banner
Provincetown, Massachusetts (2008–2015)
Arts Editor
Developed and maintained media relations within thriving arts communities in three towns, including prestigious writing and visual arts colonies, schools and museums, galleries, performing arts facilities, cinemas and festivals.
Generated, wrote and assigned weekly reviews, features, arts news stories and columns; gathered, selected and prepared photographs and illustrations and designs; and laid out weekly newspaper arts section.
Managed team of more than a dozen staff and freelance writers.
Maintained content management system for website and social media networks
Worked closely with chief editor copy editing and writing stories and designing pages for news and special sections.
Prepared scripts and recorded weekly news spots for local radio and NPR stations.
Writer, Editor, Content Manager
Wrote feature stories, celebrity interviews, column and book, theater and film reviews. (See Bibliography below for a list of selected articles.)
Copy edited and wrote news and feature stories, working closely with editor in chief.
Managed website and social media.
Development Editor
Condé Nast Publications and Bloomsbury Publishing, New York, New York (2006–2012)
Edited more than 25 books from prospectus to publication. (See Bibliography below for the list of books.)
Ghostwrote academic text, coached seasoned authors, coordinated multiple co-authors and led first-time authors through the entire editorial process of writing a book.
Led cross-disciplinary project teams — photo editors, illustrators (freehand and CAD artists), reviewers (development and technical) and assistant development and production editors.
Reviewed and approved post-development manuscripts from copy edit to final-pass pages.
Wrote book cover and catalog copy and coordinated with sales and marketing teams throughout life cycle of each edition.
Developed ancillary materials, including CD-ROMs, DVDs and instructor’s guides.
Provincetown Banner
Provincetown, Massachusetts (1998–2006)
Writer, Copy Editor, Graphic Designer, Website Manager
Wrote and copy edited award-winning articles, headlines and captions for this weekly regional newspaper. (See My Writing below for a list of selected articles.)
Collaborated with managing editor and outside development house to create a profitable online edition of the newspaper.
Coordinated workflow between editorial, production and advertising departments.
Maintained the news copy flow and laid out pages — many of which won design awards from the New England Press Association.
Iconoculture
Minneapolis, Minnesota (2004–2005)
Copy Editor, Writer
Edited, fact-checked and wrote articles for this online consumer research journal.
Harvard University News Office
www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/hpac
Cambridge, Massachusetts (1990–1996)
Writer, Copy Editor, Proofreader, Graphic Designer, Editorial Assistant
Wrote news and feature articles covering the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for Harvard’s official weekly newspaper.
Laid out, designed and produced pages for the newspaper.
Wrote, managed and edited popular weekly newspaper Calendar.
Copy edited and proofread official press releases for the Harvard President’s Office
Produced Harvard University pamphlets, booklets and other print materials.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Cambridge, Massachusetts (1989–1990)
Copy Editor, Graphic Designer, Production Assistant
Edited, designed and produced publications for the graduate school.
Coordinated art, printing, mailing and billing for the design school.
Maintained archives, office records and computers for the department.
Harvard Law School
Cambridge, Massachusetts (1987–1989)
Assistant to the Director of the Harvard Negotiation Project
Staff assistant to professor and director of research project and executive training workshops at Harvard Law School and Salzburg, Austria.
Prepared book manuscript for Getting Together: Building Relationships as We Negotiate (Penguin Books, 1989), sequel to Roger Fisher and William Ury’s New York Times bestselling Getting to Yes.
Education
Bennington College — MFA, Creative Writing
Boston University — BA, English Literature
Harvard Law School — Harvard Negotiation Workshop
National Geographic Society — Audio-visual internship
Related Experience
Substitute Instructor — Introduction to Expository Writing, Harvard Extension School
Guest Instructor — Memoir Writing Workshop, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill
College Writing Tutor — Boston University
