John Mahony

John Mahony – Editor

25 years experience in editing all subjects. Memoir, Biography, History, Politics, Arts and Literature expert, and some Fiction editing too.

Overview

When I'm not editing books, I’m also a screenwriter so I appreciate the creative process and understand how to give suggestions tactfully and clearly.

I've worked as an editor, news sub-editor, and proofreader for many publishers, university faculties, journals, government departments and private clients, as well as proofreading many academic theses since 1999.

This has provided experience in a very wide variety of subject areas in humanities, science, economics and law for clients in many countries and using UK, US and Australian English spelling. Books I've edited range from footballer memoirs to World War 2 histories, and the books I read in my spare time are just as wide ranging. I especially enjoy memoirs and enjoy editing them.

As well as having an Honours degree in Literature, I did several years of PhD study in Politics and Literature at UNSW and Cambridge University.

For a no-obligation quote, contact me anytime.

Services
Non-Fiction
Art Biographies & Memoirs Entertainment History Law Political Science & Current Affairs Sociology
Languages
English (AUS) English (UK) English (US)
Certifications
  • BA (Hons) from Monash University

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 1999 — Present
Regular editing clients have included Allen & Unwin, Currency Press, LexisNexis law publishers, the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, the Department of Environment and Heritage, ANU Press, Monash University Publishing and Sydney University Press. I've also edited or proofread novels and film scripts and proofread almost 200 academic theses.

Portfolio

The Matilda Effect

Crawford, Fiona

Proofreading
Tony 'Tank' Gordon: The Life of a Sporting Legend

Gordon Rashelle

Proofreading
Openside - My Journey to the Rugby World Cup

Pocock David, Peatey Lance

Proofreading
Tragedy and Triumph: Early Testimonies of Jewish Survivors of World War II (History)

Hodge, Freda

Copy Editing
Square Eyes: Children, Screen Time and Fun (Cultural Studies)

Booker, Emily

Copy Editing
What Matters?: Talking Value in Australian Culture (Cultural Studies)

Barnett, Tully

Copy Editing
Intrépide: Australian Women Artists in Early Twentieth-century France (Biography)

Gorman, Clem

Editorial Assessment
Shirley Hazzard: New Critical Essays (Sydney Studies in Australian Literature)

Olubas, Brigitta

Copy Editing
Camouflage Cultures: Beyond the Art of Disappearance

Elias, Associate Professor Ann

Copy Editing
Risking Together: How Finance Is Dominating Everyday Life in Australia (Public and Social Policy Series)

Bryan, Emeritus Professor Dick

Proofreading
Focus: Family Law

Copy Editing
Labor People: The Stories of Six True Believers

Bowen, Chris

Copy Editing
Tinkering: Australians Reinvent DIY Culture

Wilson, Katherine

Copy Editing
Subimperial Power: Australia in the International Arena

Fernandes, Clinton

Copy Editing
Curating in a Time of Ecological Crisis: Biennales as Agents of Change

Fenner, Felicity

Copy Editing
Australian Personal Property Securities Law, 3rd edition

Copy Editing
Wondrous Strange: Seven Brief Thoughts on New Plays

Copy Editing
Remembered Presences

Alison Croggon

Copy Editing
Stand Up for Literature

Copy Editing
D-Day New Guinea: The Extraordinary Story of the Battle for Lae and the Greatest Combined Airborne and Amphibious Operation of the Pacific War

Bradley, Phillip

Copy Editing
The Battle for Shaggy Ridge: The extraordinary story of the Australian campaign against the Japanese in New Guinea's Finisterre mountains in 1943-44

Bradley, Phillip

Copy Editing
The Idea of Australia: A search for the soul of the nation

Schultz, Julianne

Copy Editing
A Secret Australia: Revealed by the WikiLeaks Exposés

Cronau, Peter

Copy Editing

John has 1 review

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Justin M.

Justin M.

Nov, 2024

Pinned
Thanks for your great work John. I’m very happy with all your ideas and corrections and very appreciative of your expertise. My book has become a much more professional product due to your work.

Most recent contributions

What factors make a biography commercially viable?

Being famous helps! Failing that, a few factors include a new perspective or approach to the typical life story; great, evocative writing; or experiencing a well-known period or event in history from a personal, original viewpoint. For example, I edited a memoir of a Chinese woman recently who wa...
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Does a protagonist have to change over the course of their story?

As they say, "change is the only evidence of life." So as a rough, general rule, it's a good idea to have character development. As well as being an editor, I'm a screenwriter, and protagonist change is often stressed as essential in films to keep an audience interested. But it depends on the ...
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What techniques can authors use to hook readers from the first page?

I recall reading a memoir of a famous tennis player and he started it by plunging the reader into his experience of facing a relentless machine shooting balls across the net to him -- all the fatigue and pressure of trying to become a pro was encapsulated in the scene. Much more interesting than ...
Read more

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