Overview
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.
Services
Non-Fiction
Languages
Awards
- Poynter Fellow in Journalism, Yale University
Certifications
- National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) certificate
Work experience
Self-employed
I produce articles, essays and Op-Eds on politics, identity, conflict and displacement for US and UK magazines and newspapers. I also ghostwrite memoirs, and work with socially responsible business to write and edit articles and reports.
Dangerous Speech Project
Writer/Researcher on a book (authored by the Dangerous Speech Project) that examines counterspeech as a strategy to undermine the power of online hate speech. Combining narrative prose with theoretical analysis, and intended for a lay audience, the book explores how online hate speech proliferates and the varied strategies used by everyday internet users to challenge it.
New Humanist Magazine
Commissioned and edited short- and longform essays for New Humanist on a wide range of subjects across, predominantly, philosophy, politics and science, and undertook Q&As with experts on matters of international law, the climate crisis, political economy, cave art and more. The role involved working to turn sometimes clunky and esoteric copy into accessible and compelling prose for a general readership, and undertaking background research to ensure the written analysis is comprehensive.
Susan Joekes (SOAS Research Associate)
Editing and analytical development of a book chapter on gender inclusivity in international trade, for which I worked on bringing clarity to complex and often dense analysis. Research for another book chapter (with Joekes and Lahcen Achy of the IMF) on anti-competitive business practices and consumer harms, which involved parsing data on predatory economic behaviours in developing countries.
Revealing Reality
Managed the editing and writing of public-facing research reports commissioned by UK central and local government, and third and private sector clients, including Samaritans, BBC, Ofcom, and Mind. Steered teams of researchers through the writing and analysis of research into mental and physical health, deprivation, online harms, the impact of social media on political polarisation, and more. Developed and delivered one-to-one and group writing training to researchers.
Portfolio
