Penelope Jackson – Editor

I've been a book editor for over two decades, working with children's, YA, and adult fiction and non-fiction. I've been an in-house editor (Nimbus Publishing and Vagrant Press in Nova Scotia; Uphill Books in Washington State), and I also work freelance both with publishers and with individual authors.

I've been lucky enough to consistently work on bestsellers (like Lesley Crewe's "The Spoon Stealer" and "Spirit of Scatarie," #1 on the Globe and Mail bestseller list) and award winners (like Katy Bowman's "Move Your DNA" and Susan LeBlanc's "The Nowhere Places"). I also love working with brand-new writers as they develop their voice to prepare for self-publishing or finding an agent or conventional publisher.

I offer manuscript reviews, developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. Working with me tends to be a warm and motivating experience for authors—my clients are excited to have their work read closely, questioned, and finessed, and to have their authorial voices refined and deepened.

"When you write, you immerse yourself in a story and sometimes get carried away. That's what happens when you're alone in your study for months. Luckily Penelope comes along and sweeps away all the unnecessary flotsam and jetsam that strangle the original idea. That is a great gift for any writer. I will always be grateful to her."

—Lesley Crewe, #1 Globe and Mail bestselling and award-winning author of The Spirit of Scatarie and The Spoonstealer

"Penelope is a consummate editor: A steady hand and a discriminating eye. Most importantly, her imagination is housed in her heart, and so she sympathizes with the author, offering velvet chiding and steely guiding, when and where needed. I commend her highly as a superb, close reader, who appreciates that creation descends from recreation, that the 'work' is a result of 'play,' and that wit is dull without whimsy."

—George Elliott Clarke, OC, winner of the Governor General's Award for Poetry

"What would I do without Penelope?

From a managing editor perspective, I can always count on Penelope to be enthusiastic, professional, and deliver exceptional work. She’s also a delightful human, which sweetens the deal.

Penelope has taken manuscripts from we-can’t-publish-this material to the this-might-win-an-award level with her vigorous yet gentle ghostwriting, and has helped writers, both new and accomplished, create the best version of their work, with stronger voices, tighter plots, and more believable and authentic characters.

I recommend Penelope for any job involving words, no matter how big or small—I just ask that you don’t steal her away from me, because I honestly couldn’t do my job without her."

—Whitney Moran, managing editor, Nimbus Publishing and Vagrant Press