Maria Tunney - Editor
London, UK
Senior Commissioning Picture Book Editor with 10 years experience of editing all kinds of funny, sleepy and love-filled books for children.
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Overview
I am a Senior Commissioning Editor at Walker Books, with ten years of editing experience in nurturing and supporting picture book makers. I have worked with many internationally successful authors and illustrators such as Jarvis, Polly Dunbar, Timothy Knapman, Sean Taylor, Jean Jullien, Emily Hughes and Kate Hindley.
I love to help new and emerging authors find their voice, discover the very heart of their story and how to tell it truly and well. I will enable you to successfully capture the right emotion in your work, to capture the rhythm and the music in your words, and then build that up into a well-structured, strongly paced picture book story that will ignite the imagination of an illustrator and, of course, a publisher. I also have extensive experience in working with authorial illustrators who do not feel so confident with their writing and am very happy to provide support and guidance to hone in your story telling and language skills.
My style is not at all didactic but rather, I like to think of myself as a nurturing, compassionate, but also very practical editor who will guide you toward the right solution so that, hopefully, you can learn a lot in the process. I want to give you the key skills that will carry you forward to write many … MANY … more books with confidence.
I have a sharp eye for the picture book market and for what will appeal to a children's book publisher and will help you craft the pitch to position your book effectively and strike just the right note.
My areas of expertise is in making books for very young children, aged from 0-5. I have also worked on baby board books, developed first concept books and written and developed licensing projects.
I love to help new and emerging authors find their voice, discover the very heart of their story and how to tell it truly and well. I will enable you to successfully capture the right emotion in your work, to capture the rhythm and the music in your words, and then build that up into a well-structured, strongly paced picture book story that will ignite the imagination of an illustrator and, of course, a publisher. I also have extensive experience in working with authorial illustrators who do not feel so confident with their writing and am very happy to provide support and guidance to hone in your story telling and language skills.
My style is not at all didactic but rather, I like to think of myself as a nurturing, compassionate, but also very practical editor who will guide you toward the right solution so that, hopefully, you can learn a lot in the process. I want to give you the key skills that will carry you forward to write many … MANY … more books with confidence.
I have a sharp eye for the picture book market and for what will appeal to a children's book publisher and will help you craft the pitch to position your book effectively and strike just the right note.
My areas of expertise is in making books for very young children, aged from 0-5. I have also worked on baby board books, developed first concept books and written and developed licensing projects.
Languages
English (UK)
Non-Fiction
Children's Books (Non-Fiction)
Fiction
Children's Picture Books
Certifications
- University College London, MA in Publishing
- Trinity College Dublin, BA English Literature and French
- Copy-Editing and Proofreading, The Publishing Training Centre
Work experience
Senior Commissioning Picture Book Editor
Walker Books Ltd
September, 2009
–
Present
(almost 10 years)
In my role as Senior Commissioning Editor, I help shape the picture book list at Walker Books — discovering and nurturing new and established writing and illustration talent and commissioning, creating and editing front list titles.
I have an excellent sense of the picture book market in the UK and, working on such an internationally focused list, means that I also have a keen sense of what will fare well in co-edition markets and in the US.
I have worked at Walker Books for almost the years now, working my way up from an editorial assistant role being mentored by some of the most experienced and well-respected creative editors in the industry. Under their tutelage, I have come into my own as an editor and have established my own stable of very commercially successful authors and illustrators — both in the UK and internationally — including Sean Taylor, Timothy Knapman, Michelle Robinson, Jean Jullien, Emily Hughes, Polly Dunbar and Jarvis.
I have strong, lasting creative relationships with well-established authors but also particularly love to develop new authorial voices in my role.
Proof Reader
Hodder & Stoughton
August, 2009
–
September, 2009
(about 1 month)
I worked full time on Hodder's eBook Programme where I undertook the following tasks:
• Proofreading eBooks on screen
• Checking corrections
• Liaising with Production houses to get further files
• Uploading finished titles to Overdrive (the company who host the Epub files).
Portfolio (22 selected works)
Alan's Big, Scary Teeth
Jarvis
Meet Alan, an alligator with a secret. Famed for his big, scary teeth, he sneaks into the jungle every day to scare the jungle animals ..."I'm big, scary Alan! Fear my razor-sharp teeth!" But after a long day of scaring, Alan likes nothing better than to run a warm mud bath and take out his false teeth, which nobody knows about! That is, until his teeth go missing. What will Alan do now? Scari... read more
Dinosaurs Don't Have Bedtimes!
Timothy Knapman
Follow the Track All the Way Back
Timothy Knapman
Can't Catch Me!
Timothy Knapman
That Fruit Is Mine!
Anuska Allepuz
Where's Home, Daddy Bear?
Nicola O'Byrne
Mrs Mole, I'm Home!
Jarvis
Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise
Sean Taylor
From masterful storyteller Sean Taylor and exciting, celebrated graphic artist Jean Jullien, comes the laugh-out-loud tale of Hoot Owl. Hoot Owl is no ordinary owl - oh no! - he's a master of disguise! And he will use his expert camouflage powers to trick his unsuspecting prey into succumbing to him! Tiny animals of the night ...beware! But, somehow, Hoot Owl's prey keeps escaping...Hmmm, perh... read more
They Came from Planet Zabalooloo!
Sean Taylor
A Brave Bear
Sean Taylor
Migloo's Day
William Bee
From the iconic creator of Whatever, William Bee, comes a brand new series and the ultimate search-and-find story book experience. Meet Migloo - everyone's favourite dog - and follow him on his adventures through Sunnytown as he follows his nose for delicious treats, meets all his friends along the way and even saves the day! Jam-packed town scenes illustrate the adventures of Sunnytown's resi... read more
Good Night Like This
Mary Murphy
A Lion Is a Lion
Polly Dunbar
Patrick and the President
Ryan Tubridy
Maisy Learns to Swim
Lucy Cousins
Maisy's First 123: A Maisy Concept Book
Lucy Cousins
Maisy's First Colours: A Maisy Concept Book
Lucy Cousins
Too Many Toys!
Heidi Deedman
Too Many Toys!
The Little Adventurers: Leafy the Pet Leaf
Philip Ardagh
No, Nancy, No!
Alice Tait
Time Now to Dream
Timothy Knapman
Maria has 6 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Communication
I was so happy working with Maria first time round that I ended up extending the project and doing some more work with her on my picture book text. Maria continued to give me excellent editorial advice - despite the numerous iterations she continued to look at it with fresh eyes. I don't know if this text will find a home, but it's certainly in a much better position now than when Maria first s...
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Amber Hatch, July 2019
Working with Maria has been a really positive experience. My picture book text was going nowhere and I couldn't see what needed to be done on it. She pointed out what wasn't working and how I could re-write to shape it up. This led to significant plot changes for the better. Then she worked very closely with me on the text, always suggesting pertinent and neat edits, but not standing in the way...
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Amber Hatch, June 2019
It was an absolute pleasure to work with Maria. This was my first collaboration with an editor, and besides providing valuable feedback on the story itself, Maria taught me quite a bit about the process in general. My children's book is worlds ahead of where it started thanks to her thoughtful suggestions and instructive examples. Highest recommendation!
Tim Schotke, May 2019
Maria was exceptional from beginning to end. This was my first Children's book and she shared so many websites to study and tricks of the trade. Her knowledge and honest but positive feedback will help me with all my future books.
Cindy Markle, October 2018
Maria was professional, patient and thorough, and delivered quality work that exceeded my expectations. It was a real pleasure working with her.
Sharon Salu, September 2018
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