Claudia Tavernese – Editor

"Claudia made herself invaluable to MoMA's Department of Publications, bringing to her work not only extraordinary diligence and precision (and eagle eyes!) but the knowledge and intellectual sophistication of an art history PhD. Among the many assignments we gave her (atypical tasks for an intern, I should add), Claudia proofread books and wall labels for us, translated Italian texts, and edited gallery didactics and several scholarly bibliographies--all with sensitivity and expertise. Moreover, she met every deadline given to her, no matter how tight. Everyone on our team greatly enjoyed working with her."

— Don McMahon, editorial director at the Museum of Modern Art (NYC)

I began my editing career in 2004, as proofreader of the University of Ottawa’s weekly student newspaper. I spent the following three years as the paper’s copy editor, learning the ins and outs of journalistic editing and the Canadian Press style guide.

I went on to complete a master’s degree at the University of Toronto from 2008 to 2010, where I also worked as an editorial assistant and helped in the creation of a forthcoming textbook. In addition, I began to offer freelance editing services, which led to an influx of requests from academics worldwide requesting assistance with their master’s theses. As such, I became familiar with various academic style guides and learned the different spellings used by English-speaking nations. My editing work for graduate students—who came from a variety of disciplines—continues to this day.

After years of editing the academic writings of others, I had to once again put those skills toward my own work: from 2013 to 2018, I completed an art history PhD at Durham University (UK). After defending my dissertation, I was able to put focus back onto my editing career, working on both fiction and non-fiction books for self-publishing authors and publishing companies around the world. In early 2020, I was fortunate to join the publications department of the Museum of Modern Art (NYC) for a paid editorial internship, where I was able to work on a variety of art books, press releases, and catalogues.

Currently, I am continuing with my freelance work and am a regular editor at the Art Canada Institute. I am also enrolled in the Certificate in Publishing program at Ryerson University, where I have recently been nominated for the Robert Weaver Award for Excellence in Book Editing.

"From the start, Claudia has been a talented copy editor. With a keen attention to detail, a comprehensive knowledge of language and grammar, and a deep commitment to each project, she is a first-rate choice. I have had the pleasure of watching Claudia's skills and professionalism develop over a decade and would recommend her to anyone who wishes to do their writing justice."

— David Moscrop (PhD), political commentator, columnist for The Washington Post, writer for Maclean's, and author