Natalie Danford - Editor
New York, NY, United States
Writer, editor, and Italian-to-English translator with three decades of experience. I've written and edited dozens of cookbooks.
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Overview
I've been an editor, writer, and translator (Italian into English) for more than 30 years and have a broad range of experience. I am dedicated to crafting prose that both communicates and flows.
I have a great deal of experience in assisting non-native English speakers with their work in English. Likewise, my aim with translations is to craft text that doesn't feel like a translation but rather like a truly excellent piece of writing that was generated in English.
I specialize in cookbooks and books on art, architecture, and design. I have written and edited many books for restaurants, wineries, stores, and others.
I also work as a copy editor and proofreader. I am a stickler for proper grammar, but again, the overarching goal for all of this work is to communicate your thoughts and ideas effectively. Most of all, I aim for a writing/editing/translation process that's fun and satisfying for everyone involved—whether there are just two of us working together or an entire team that needs to agree on the results.
I have a great deal of experience in assisting non-native English speakers with their work in English. Likewise, my aim with translations is to craft text that doesn't feel like a translation but rather like a truly excellent piece of writing that was generated in English.
I specialize in cookbooks and books on art, architecture, and design. I have written and edited many books for restaurants, wineries, stores, and others.
I also work as a copy editor and proofreader. I am a stickler for proper grammar, but again, the overarching goal for all of this work is to communicate your thoughts and ideas effectively. Most of all, I aim for a writing/editing/translation process that's fun and satisfying for everyone involved—whether there are just two of us working together or an entire team that needs to agree on the results.
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Non-Fiction
Architecture
Art
Biographies & Memoirs
Cooking & Food Wine & Spirits
Design
Entertainment
Fashion & Textiles
Travel
Certifications
- American Translators Association certified translator from Italian into English
Work experience
Freelance Editorial Associate
Self-employed
August, 1990
–
Present
(almost 29 years)
Provide service as a writer, copy editor, proofreader, line editor, and fact-checker on a freelance basis. Clients have included The New Yorker, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and many other magazines and publishers. For ten years I edited the Best New American Voices series, which featured short fiction from emerging writers. I strive to follow a writer's lead in shaping the best manuscript possible.
Italian to English translator
Self-employed
August, 1990
–
Present
(almost 29 years)
I am accredited by the American Translators Association to translate from Italian into English. My goal is to create translations that do not read like translations but instead flow naturally in English. Many of my book-length translation projects have included significant editing and writing. They include Osteria, Rizzoli (2017); The Hills of Chianti, Rizzoli (2014); A Family Farm in Tuscany, Shearer Publishing (2012); and Puglia: A Culinary Memoir, Oronzo Editions (2008).
Portfolio (10 selected works)
This celebration of the simple, hospitable cooking of Italy’s small regional restaurants is unmatched in both authenticity and scope. Slow Food, the international defender of local food traditions, scoured the countryside of every region of Italy to collect and share the best traditional recipes from osterie, the humble local taverns that preserve the heritage of true Italian cooking. This coo... read more
All the essential techniques, profusely illustrated with step-by-step photographs. How do you recognize a San Marzano tomato? How do you shape tortellini? How do you cut scallopine? Everyone loves Italian food, but the ingredients and techniques can be new territory and plain recipes can take you only so far. To make sense of it all, you need La Cucina Italiana. With more than 3,000 step-by-st... read more
The head of Italy’s "first family" of winemaking reflects on the Antinoris’ six-hundred-year legacy and a life of good food and drink in the hills of Tuscany. If you know wine, you know the name Antinori. Since 1385, this noble Florentine family has produced some of Italy’s finest wines. The Hills of Chianti tells the story of the Antinoris and the Tuscany they call home, through seven iconic ... read more
Sarah Fioroni shares stories of family traditions and daily life as well as recipes in A Family Farm in Tuscany: Recipes and Stories from Fattoria Poggio Alloro. Fioroni provides a month-by-month glimpse of farm living as well as seasonal recipes that are simple yet so delicious, and easy to prepare in your kitchen. Three generations of Fioronis continue to work the land using age-old practice... read more
Fashion is often seen as an industry of eccentric personalities and unique, exceptional talents but it's the collaborators, rather than the individuals, who underpin the industry and inspire this book. This stylish volume, compiled by Lou Stoppard, editor-at-large of London's SHOWstudio, delves into the behind-the-scenes worlds of the fashion industry's most intriguing partnerships to explore ... read more
At an early age, BillyBoy* chose two mentors: Bugs Bunny and Elsa Schiaparelli. From Bugs Bunny, he learned the basics of how to behave in society and how to manage life’s wicked turns; to be coy, smart, witty, and to always dress appropriately with the assurance of Beau Brummell. But most of all, his cartoon mentor taught him a lighthearted approach to life, and an entertaining charm that is ... read more
Art Parks: A Tour of America's Sculpture Parks and Gardens
Francesca Cigola
Whether located in the heart of a metropolis such as Chicago or on sprawling fields in the countryside, sculpture parks and gardens have become increasingly popular destinations for art and nature lovers alike. These art parks offer visitors a unique opportunity to interact with large-scale works designed for quiet contemplation in natural landscapes. Art Parks is the first comprehensive guide... read more
Pizza: Seasonal Recipes from Rome's Legendary Pizzarium
Gabriele Bonci
A fresh take on everyone’s favorite food, straight from the "Michelangelo of dough" (Vogue). Yeast, flour, and water—from such humble ingredients rises a food that is for many an object of devotion. Here is a cookbook that reveals the secrets of the crust straight from the source in Italy. Gabriele Bonci, known throughout his country as the King of Pizza, operates a small pizzeria in Rome, whe... read more
Puglia: A Culinary Memoir (Italy's Food Culture)
Maria Pignatelli Ferrante, Natalie Danford translator
Puglia: A Culinary Memoir by Maria Pignatelli Ferrante, first published in Italy as part of a highly regarded culinary series, is now available in English from Oronzoeditons. Puglian author Maria Pignatelli Ferrante skillfully weaves regional history and personal anecdotes together with over 250 classic Puglian recipes that follow an Italian meal from primi piatti to dolci. Puglian recipes wil... read more
The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets: Twenty-Five Centuries of Weaving
Abraham Levi Moheban
The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets catalogs the diverse forms that the art and craft of the handwoven carpet has taken over twenty-five centuries, from the Far East to North Africa, from Europe to India, and within both hemispheres of the New World. The book features Classic Asiatic sources in the "Rug Belt"—Persia (Iran), Anatolia (Turkey), the Caucasus, China, India, and central Asia—and in... read more
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