I’ve been a freelancer for most of my working life. It’s an experience that has made me flexible, adaptable, a creative problem solver and capable of meeting the craziest of deadlines.
It’s also given me a weird collection of interesting but less than useful facts. I know more about penguins, Tasmanian convicts, comedians, Nobel Prize winners and contact lenses than anyone needs to.
I create content for print and online publications. I research and write from scratch, or edit existing text to make sure the message gets across clearly. I am a slightly obsessive proofreader with a great eye for detail. My work includes annual reports, magazines, newsletters, websites, academic theses and ‘real’ books for both trade publishers and self-publishing authors.
I am accredited by the Australian Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd), certified by the US Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) and an Advanced Professional Member of the UK Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). I have a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing from RMIT University.
I’m also an author. My travel memoir, Wrong Way Round, was published by Hardie Grant in 2015 and I have written 18 children’s books for Wild Dog Books and Black Inc. My books have received gongs from the Children’s Book Council of Australia, the Educational Publishing Association of Australia and the WA Premier’s Book Awards. In 2020, How to Win a Nobel Prize (co-written with Professor Barry Marshall and illustrated by Bernard Caleo) was shortlisted for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize alongside Neil deGrasse Tyson.
And with more than 25 years’ experience of design, layout and print management, I can design, layout and manage the production of any online or printed product.
Like most professional freelancers, I don’t have a niche.
I could say that I work for corporate graphic design studios, trade book publishers, government departments, mining companies, small retail businesses, performing arts companies, advocacy organisations, community groups and charities.
That’s all true.
But, really, I work with people. People who appreciate great words and strong design. People who know that deadlines matter but so does quality. People who need someone who cares as much about their project as they do.
That’s me. That’s what I do.
