Francis Wade – Ghostwriter

Over a 15-year career I have written for some of the world's leading newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, New York Review of Books, London Review of Books, Washington Post and more. I write and edit (and can advise on) everything from news articles and long-form features to Op-Eds, short memoirs and non-fiction books. My interests are wide-ranging, but I tend to seek out stories of people and communities who have experienced some form of upheaval, whether at a societal level or in more intimate ways, through illness and bereavement, or violence and departure from their homelands.

My specialism lies in politics, migration and conflict, while I also write on global warming and sustainability. In 2017 I published my first book, 'Myanmar's Enemy Within', on the genocide of Rohingya in Myanmar. The book received high praise in The Economist, TIME and elsewhere, and later went to a second edition. I have ghostwritten memoirs of people who have led quite extraordinary lives, as children of deposed prime ministers, or as onetime members of militant groups, and I gain huge satisfaction from telling compelling human-centred stories. I have trained researchers in writing strategy, and I hold a certificate from the National Council for the Training of Journalists in the UK, and an MSc in political science from UCL (Distinction). In 2019, I was a Poynter Fellow in Journalism at Yale University.

I am a sensitive and meticulous writer, and I have spent many years honing my style to ensure that the work I produce is cogent and engaging. I greatly enjoy wrestling with other writers' drafts to energise or economise the prose, to introduce the right tone, to pace and structure it correctly - in short, to do exactly as they intend. I only take on projects I'm confident I can add value to, so only if we are both satisfied and clear on the work required would we formalise the project.

Please also take a look at some of the reviews of my book:

"Vital" - Economist

"Lucid and admirable" - Times Literary Supplement

"Excellent" - Literary Review

"Bold and brave" - TIME

I hope this gives you a good sense of my areas of expertise and the kind of services I offer. I maintain open and warm channels of communication, so please do get in touch. I'm always excited to hear from other writers, whether or not it becomes a working relationship.