2011 Alumni Spotlight: Kelsey (Book) Bowen
Published October 30, 2026 by Christopher Toth
Current job title
Senior Acquisitions Editor
Describe your current position
I acquire and perform the developmental edit for trade fiction and nonfiction for Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Other parts of my work include travel, negotiations, developing and maintaining author relationships, and many behind-the-scenes operations like consulting on book title, interior design, and other packaging elements.
To what extent does writing relate to your current position? What type of writing/design do you do for work?
I work in some kind of teaching or consulting capacity regarding writing with my authors on every manuscript I touch during edits. I also often write bits of suggested text for them during edits as examples of the revisions or additions I'd like to see in the narrative, and many times that ends up approved by the author and placed in the final manuscript. On the acquisitions side, I also write internal memos to present potential projects to my team as well as publishing offer letters when I am bidding on a project, and more emails than the heart can handle!
Please describe your path from graduation at GVSU to your current position.
After graduation I worked briefly as a temporary content editor for a popular online travel website, and then worked as a restaurant server while heavily pursuing Baker Publishing Group. I had discovered Baker when I was still in a class at GVSU, Business Communication, and we had an assignment to prepare a real cover letter and resume for a real job posting. I did not actually submit that for a job at that time, but I discovered that Baker was exactly where I wanted to land a job, and within two years I was very lucky that the right position and right boss came along and I was granted that opportunity with Revell.
What parts of the writing major had the strongest impact on you as a professional?
By far, it was both the Creative Nonfiction and Creative Fiction Writing Workshops that impacted me more than anything else. Those classes inadvertently taught me how to think like a developmental editor. They are where I discovered my love for the macro over the micro in editing. I loved learning (and accepting) the feedback loop.
What advice would you offer to current/future writing majors at Grand Valley?
Take advantage of writing workshops, and be open to constructive criticism! I wasn't honest with my writing before college, and a new world opened up to me once I allowed myself to be. Work at the Writing Center if you have the opportunity. All things included, my love of writing bloomed even bigger--and being able to take my writing skills and teach them to others (and continue learning along the way!) made me happier than I ever expected.