Eleanor Parkin – Editor

Hello! I'm an experienced and friendly children's picture book editor, available for new commissions and ready to help authors, illustrators, publishers and agents develop and nurture their projects.

I have worked in children’s publishing for fifteen years, editing, commissioning, and project-managing picture, novelty, and pop-up books, as well as board and baby books. I specialise in the youngest age range and have worked for some of the best publishing houses in the business: Campbell Books, Little Tiger Press, Puffin, and Scholastic. I’ve worked with talented, best-selling and prize-winning authors and illustrators: in 2012, shortly before my first maternity leave, I commissioned Cerrie Burnell’s first picture book for Scholastic and championed her work with them, including fiction series Harper and the Scarlet Umbrella. Some other real highlights for me have been working with Lauren Child, Ben Cort, Alex T. Smith and Sarah McIntyre. Before going freelance, I developed Scholastic’s toddler series with rising star Thomas Flintham, and looked after their bestselling heritage series based on The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch. I have also written a number of novelty and non-fiction texts.

I offer all types of editorial service, tailored to your particular needs. For authors, I can review your manuscript (or multiple manuscripts), help with your covering letter, and edit and develop your books. For publishers looking for a helping hand, I am available for writing, editing (development and structural, as well as proofreading and proof checking), project managing, and all creative work including brainstorming and suggesting author-illustrator pairings.

I pride myself on a calm and kind approach, and love nurturing new talent and developing new projects. If you are looking for a picture books editor to work with collaboratively, then please do get in touch.