Lydia Unsworth

Lydia Unsworth – Editor

Managing editor with 5+ years' experience in literary fiction, non-fiction, memoir, translated fic. PhD. Published poet with 7 collections.

Overview

I have been Managing Editor of a small press for 5+ years and have experience working with internationally bestselling authors and prize-winning translators. Books I've edited include THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE NEW WORLD by Maryse Conde (tr. Richard Philcox - shortlisted for the INternational Booker Prize 2023), COCOON by Zhang Yueran (tr. Jeremy Tiang), SUMMER BROTHER by Jaap Robben (tr. David Doherty - longlisted for Man Booker International and winner of Vondel Prize for Dutch Literature in Translation), THE BITCH by Pilar Quintana (tr. Lisa Dillman - finalist for NBA), and PLANET OF CLAY by Samar Yazbek (tr. Leri Price - shortlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation).


I have experience with stylistic and developmental editing, copy editing, formatting, proofreading, input into cover design, coming up with new book titles, grant-writing, writing flap copy, press releases, newsletters, working to style guides.


Attention to detail / nuance: each book comes with its own set of rules meaning that my editorial approach is an adaptive one and my skills are continually being revised and challenged. I enjoy every part of the editorial process, whether a light edit or a more heavy and involved collaboration. I like discussions, I'm curious, and I love to be surprised.


Experience working in both UK and US English.


Books worked on have been short-/longlisted for the National Book Awards, Man Booker International, DUBLIN Literary, PEN Translates, Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, etc.


Poet by night (Death of Workers, Knives Forks and Spoons Press, Osmosis Press, Beir Bua Press, Red Ceilings Press). Poetry is my passion, meaning I have a keen eye for rhythm and repetition and a real love of language at the sentence level, which aids me greatly in my editing work.


Currently researching for a PhD in poetics and creative writing.

Services
Non-Fiction
Art Biographies & Memoirs Travel
Fiction
Chick Lit Contemporary Fiction Magical Realism Poetry Short Story
Languages
English (UK) English (US)
Awards
  • DYCP funding - Arts Council England
Certifications
  • MA Creative Writing, University of Salford
  • MA Contemporary Fine Art, University of Salford

Work experience

World Editions

Jan, 2018 — Jun, 2023 (over 5 years)

See overview above.

Full catalogue here:

Structo Press

Oct, 2016 — Present

Selecting and editing poetry for the journal

Regular reviewer

Self-employed

Aug, 2012 — Feb, 2018 (over 5 years)

Clients included, World Press Photo, Eurail,

Producing creative and topical non-fiction for the web

Inspirational microcopy, travel blog writing, fact-checking, keywords, SEO

Proofreading/formatting Ph.D. theses and academic articles according to specific style guides

Private lessons in academic written English/essay writing/poetry

Lydia has 6 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Jenni C.

Jenni C.

Sep, 2024

Pinned
Once again Lydia has been friendly and professional, giving helpful advice and encouragement on this poetry journey of mine. I have learnt to be more playful and to dig deeper. She has been so good at recommending books and examples to read. She responded to my questions and re-submissions of polished poems with clear and honest advice. Worth every pound spent. Thank you Lydia.
Mark A.

Mark A.

May, 2023

Pinned
Lydia is an incisive, no-nonsense editor of poetry. She edited my manuscript of 32 poems and offered markups on nearly all of them. Her edits are well-considered, and a few times I exclaimed out loud because of how perfect her word choice was. She made a few overall observations on my book as well, which were helpful. Most notably, she noted that my line endings sometimes seem unnatural, which...
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Robin W.

Robin W.

Oct, 2024

Lydia performed above and beyond my expectations. My novel has a somewhat complex plot, and Lydia asked a lot of questions which really helped me to correct and clarify things I'd overlooked. As well, she meticulously plodded the grammatical minefield and really elevated my work, from the smallest absentee hyphen to the biggest opportunities for descriptive enhancements. I'm very pleased with h...
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Jenni C.

Jenni C.

Jun, 2024

Lydia has been fantastic to work with, so very helpful and professional. Very patient with me and all my questions. Definitely working with her again, great value for money.
Pete R.

Pete R.

Feb, 2024

Lydia was affordable, responsive, and helped me work on my query. I recommend!

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