I have worked in children’s publishing for over thirty years and have extensive knowledge of the publishing business. Some of the areas in which I work are as follows:
- Project management work for a specific project or list area
- Structural, development and copy-editing of manuscripts
- Commissioning children’s fiction titles for ages five to sixteen
- Teaching – ideas creation, young fiction writing, structural editing and more
- Mentoring new writers and helping them develop their stories
- Writing young reading books
- Developing film tie-in publications including activity books and novelisations
- Developing in-house fiction series from concept to publication, including commissioning authors and writing storylines for them to work to
I am proud to have nurtured strong relationships with all the clients I work with and always offer professional advice and support at the same time as being sympathetic to their individual needs. I have successfully completed a Foundations for Inclusion course and am working with new writers through the All Stories mentorship programme, which offers free mentoring to writers from underrepresented backgrounds.
Titles I’ve worked on have gone on to win numerous awards and prizes and I was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award which recognises and celebrates the relationship between an author and their editor.
As well as my editorial work, I volunteered in schools for many years. I was the Chair of Governors at my local primary school, oversaw the fundraising and refurbishment (including sorting out all the books!) of a local school library and ran a lunchtime book group for Year 6 children.
I live in Oxford with my husband and have two grown-up children and two not-at-all-grown-up cats. Any spare time I have is spent reading, listening to podcasts, watching live music and comedy, going to the gym or cooking. But what I love to do most is spend time with my family and friends.