Meet Chris Keeslar – Editor-in-Chief

Christopher Keeslar was graduated from the creative writing program of New York University and left with an eye on publishing. Initially intending to make a name for himself as an author, he took work as an editorial assistant to support that ambition and soon found himself as handy with a pencil as with a word processor—or maybe handier. Since accepting an editorial role, he’s won both national and local awards for his work, and is widely respected as an industry professional. Chris enjoys a stellar reputation in the Romance industry, where authors and agents alike applaud him for his integrity, enthusiasm and commitment to producing great stories. He takes time to grow and groom authors rather than simply churn out product.

His first job with Dorchester Publishing lasted more than sixteen years. Chris was doing actual developmental editing soon after he began his employment and within 18 months he had taken a role in acquisitions. He soon became part of a core editorial team, as well as an unofficial contract guru, and the next fourteen years were devoted to growing the house and his own author list.

Surprisingly, Chris found Romance fiction to his taste. Genre fiction–wise, he’d grown up reading primarily fantasy, swords & sorcery type books, but discovered that the leap to Romance was not as disorienting as one might suspect; both genres steered toward overall happy endings and fantasy fulfillment.

His preferences skewed toward fantasy and science fiction–style Romances, “paranormals” as it were, and toward medieval historicals, though he has edited a much broader range of titles throughout his career. Readers everywhere echoed his tastes, vampire fiction becoming particularly dominant in recent years.

In 2004, Chris was chosen to receive RWA PASIC’s 2004 national award for best editor. This was followed several years later by the RWA New York chapter’s local award.

The last few years have seen changes in the industry, but readers have not diminished their taste for quality Romance fiction. In fact, Romance is bigger now than ever. An above-average technological ability for a publishing person has helped Chris persevere in a shifting environment, making him the perfect choice for Boroughs Publishing Group, where he can put his talents to work in acquisitions and editorial development as the company’s Editor-in-Chief.

Please join us in welcoming Chris to the Boroughs’ community.