Jonny Davidson, Editor in Bristol, UK

Overview

I am a creative editor with over ten years of experience working in small teams with global reach and brand recognition (I created the British Library's Tales of the Weird, and worked on many official James Bond books for the Ian Fleming estate).

I love to work on genre fiction projects, especially in the weird fiction, science fiction and horror communities. I am also an expert in assembling short story anthologies, and have helped hundreds of editors achieve their perfect collection. An exciting new part of my business is editing translated fiction to help the translator and author find the sweet spot between original voice and natural language.

Please do take a look at the example books in the portfolio here as well as the authors I have worked with in my publishing roles, and I'd be delighted to discuss any projects for which you think I might be able to help. I look forward to working with you.

Services

Developmental Editing

Copy Editing

Proofreading

Fiction

Anthologies Comics & Graphic Novels Dystopian Horror Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime Short Story

Languages

English (UK) English (US)

Awards

Book Design and Production Awards (multiple shortlistings)

Work experience

Editor, Designer and Researcher

Self-employed

Jul, 2025 — Present

I am a self-employed editor working with publishers and authors to create amazing books. I provide expert editorial support on new books and anthologies for authors and publishers including Indigo Press and Foundry Editions. Specialising in literary an genre fiction (weird, science fiction) and material in translation where it is crucial to preserve authorial intent and natural voice during the edit.

Senior Editor

British Library

Jan, 2025 — Jun, 2025 (6 months)

Commissioning and editing 25–30 books per year for the flagship British Library Crime Classics, Tales of the Weird and Gilded Nightmares series. In this role I worked directly with authors such as China Miéville, Marina Warner, Sofia Samatar, Ann VanderMeer, Mike Ashley, Johnny Mains, Isabel Greenberg, Julia Armfield, Daisy Johnson, Matthew Holness, Edward Parnell and many more, including an exciting cast of academics from across the world's top universities.

Production Editor

British Library

Oct, 2017 — Dec, 2025 (about 8 years)

In this role I created the popular Tales of the Weird series and was series editor for this, the Crime Classics, Science Fiction Classics and Gilded Nightmares. This involved working with authors and editors to create books, with copy-editing, proofreading and developmental editing on 25–30 titles per year.