I am the author of two books: my memoir, The Tao of Hoop: On the Transformational Practice of Hula-Hooping (Seriously, Though), and a chapbook of poetry, Which Lies Are Necessary? Currently, I’m at work on a second memoir called One Story of O: From Good Girl to Crazy Ex to Other Woman.
My college mentor Robert O’Meally—founder of the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University—inspired me to major in African-American literature. After a few years in the editorial department at The Sun Magazine—a one-of-a-kind, ad-free publication in Chapel Hill, NC—I completed an MFA in Poetry at the Warren Wilson Program for Writers.
Writing my first memoir, a labor of love that took 8 years, sharpened my skills as an editor. Serving as not only editor but also designer, publisher and publicist of my own work—and bringing the book out during the Covid pandemic—have placed me in a unique position to help writers realize their most ambitious projects. I understand the written word from the most minute scale, a line of poetry, to the macro-undertaking of a book with a central idea and themes that must be developed much more slowly. Whatever it is you want to express on the page, I can help you.
Send an email to ann@annhumphreys.org and describe your ambition…I’d love to work with you!
* * Prices vary according to project—smaller projects I can do an agreed-upon per-hour rate ($50-$80/hr) based on the level of editing; larger, book-length/ghostwriting projects will entail a flat fee and an up-front deposit.
Ann Humphreys has achieved the incredible feat of conveying spiritual practice and growth through a compelling narrative that grips the reader---somehow without sounding corny. The Tao of Hoop is that rare gem: a memoir as dramatic as it is profound.
-- Dalton Conley, author of You May Ask Yourself
This book is about so much more than hooping—it’s about love and loss and childhood memories; it’s about desire, the body, truth, and the idea that “feeling could be an experience distinct from thought.” But it’s also, delightfully, about hooping! Polarity, community, dancing. Letting go and holding close. Practice. Ann Humphreys has a stalwart heart and her Tao of Hoop is a sincere and moving journey.
-- Belle Boggs, author of The Art of Waiting: On Fertility, Medicine, and Motherhood
I highly recommend The Tao of Hoop for all adult readers – and for young adult readers, as well – who wish for an extraordinarily deep and outrageously delightful and consummately readable path into the “sense of awe” always residing in us and always in readiness for release. This book is a song of wisdom, of vision. Inside the rhythms of The Tao of Hoop, we feel ourselves dance inside The Flow!
--Kevin “Mc” McIlvoy, author of One Kind Favor
Ann's editorial approach is thoughtful, insightful and sharp. She clearly identifies the issues and communicates them in a nonjudgmental way.
— Khan Wong, author of Circus Infinite
Ann really went the distance for my novel-in-progress, offering me a wise assessment of my character, and providing me with crack-sharp suggestions for the refinement of my storytelling. If you have the chance to work with her, take it — she is smart, supportive, and will bring her many decades of thoughtful reading and writing to your project.
— Emilie White, Pushcart nominee & founder of the Kay Falk Literary Project
Ann has edited a book and several articles, emails, and product texts for my company Nordic Wisdom, and I couldn't be happier. She has helped us with naming, too. I trust her expertise 100% and love knowing we're in good hands. Ann goes the extra mile and gives suggestions and shares her ideas and knowledge. She's an absolute pleasure to work with!
— Bhakti Kulmala of Nordic Wisdom
As a new Assistant Professor of Biology, I wanted a carefully crafted mission and values statement to set the culture and expectations for my group. But juggling the demands of both the job and of family, I was unable to carve out the time and the focus to write it from scratch myself. In only a few short hours, Ann was able to receive a summary of my plans and priorities for research and for lab culture, digest and distill the summary, and then recast it in her characteristically lucid prose—all while maintaining some allegiance to my own voice. Hiring her for this internal lab project was one of the best professional decisions I have made.
— Courtney Fitzpatrick, Biologist
Ann is helping to midwife my manuscript and her editorial insights and lightning-fast content edits are a godsend!