Who’s the Person Behind A Lifely Read?

I’m Amy Wilson Sheldon, a writer, editor, and communications consultant. In other words, I connect words and people. The name of this site – A Lifely Read – came about in 2014, when I started a blog about books while living with my family in Dublin, Ireland. My posts touched upon how “real life” can be found in fiction, so I decided to play with the sentiment “Well, that was a lively read!”

Now, this site serves as an umbrella for all of my work projects: communications work for nonprofits and small organizations, literary event production (I am also the founder of MetroWest Readers Fest), my published writing, and – yup – that original blog, which is still going strong.

Prior to striking out on my own, I’ve worked as: a communications director for a small nonprofit, a programme assistant for the Dublin Book Festival, a copyeditor and proofreader for Random House/Vintage Books, an after-school director, a media literacy educator, a book reviewer (Books Ireland, Dublin Review of Books), and a magazine writer. (Lucky me: My first post-college job was working with an amazing group of folks at then-upstart Fast Company magazine in the Scotch ‘n Sirloin building in Boston’s North End.) I hold degrees from Tufts University (BA) and New School University (MA).

Although I can’t really quantify this expertise – nor can I put it on an official CV – one of my biggest strengths is a knack for sussing out what makes individuals and groups tick and then finding a way to tell or share that “story.” How’d I fine-tune this abstract knowhow? Mostly by moving around a lot (Seattle, Boston [twice], NYC [twice], Charlotte [twice], Dublin — and Los Angeles if you want to get technical and count my first 6 months) and getting up to speed quickly on what people care about and talk about as well as how they share that information.

I’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with me here.