Simon Coury - Editor
Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland
Freelance editor with thirty years' experience working with authors to say what they want to say in fiction, memoir and academic writing.
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Overview
I've been a freelance editor for thirty years. I like working with authors to get their books to be what they want them to be, whether that's getting the story as strong as possible or finding the best phrasing to convey an argument or explain an idea.
In the past I have worked for big UK publishers including Pan Macmillan, Oxford University Press and Harvill, but a lot of what I do these days is helping new authors shape their books, at the level of both sentence and story. The principles are same, whether it's fiction or non-fiction.
I also edit academic titles, and I make something of a speciality of working closely with authors whose first language is not English. My favourite editing treasure is a copy of 'Peasants and Prayers', a book about Norse Greenland, inscribed by the author to 'the best editor ever', with my name written in Norse runes.
In the past I have worked for big UK publishers including Pan Macmillan, Oxford University Press and Harvill, but a lot of what I do these days is helping new authors shape their books, at the level of both sentence and story. The principles are same, whether it's fiction or non-fiction.
I also edit academic titles, and I make something of a speciality of working closely with authors whose first language is not English. My favourite editing treasure is a copy of 'Peasants and Prayers', a book about Norse Greenland, inscribed by the author to 'the best editor ever', with my name written in Norse runes.
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Fiction
Action & Adventure
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
Middle Grade
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Education & Reference
History
Nature
Certifications
- Full member AFEPI (Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers of Ireland)
Work experience
Freelance editor
Self-employed
January, 1989
–
Present
(over 33 years)
I have worked as a proofreader, copy editor, structural editor and project manager. I have an excellent eye for detail, but what I most enjoy is helping an author find their voice.
Portfolio (21 selected works)
How to keep your faith in a Power greater than yourself when in the midst of a dark night of the soul?“The FaceTime call that plunged us all into chaos arrived on a winter’s morning early in 2015, two weeks after our daughter Keso had started her new job and new life in Hong Kong. Keso, aged 26, was in hospital with a rare form of stroke that left her paralysed on the left side of her body. In... read more
The Companion to Irish Traditional Music is a landmark, easy to use A-Z format for studying, exploring and researching one of Ireland’s most universally recognisable cultural expressions.Among the existing publications on Irish traditional music there are works of monumental initiative and deservedly enduring status. But the radical development in this music scene since the 1960s mark it now a... read more
1970, Irish team competes in Jersey Channel Islands. Left to right: Harry Evans, Dave Kenny, Hugh OBrien Moran, David Govan, Roger Steadman, Eamon Matthews, Bo Vance, Kevin Cavey, Alan Duke.This nostalgic story takes one back to the beginning of surfing in Ireland, which was hammered into reality by one ambitious youth attempting to live the dream. He was entranced by the Hawaiian Islands and ... read more
May, Lou and Cass: Jane Austen's Nieces in Ireland
Sophia Hillan
Marianne, Louise and Cassandra Knight were nieces of the great 19th century novelist who gave us Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Jane knew the girls well, reading and sewing with them as they grew up, and they were often the subject of her witty letters.The Knight sisters went on to lead lives remarkably similar to those of Jane’s heroines, experiencing the pains of blighted lov... read more
It began in 1821 with the finding of the Kingittorsuaq stone, the first evidence of runic writing in Norse Greenland. Researchers were faced for the first time with the language spoken by the Norse inhabitants of medieval Greenland. Since then, more than 160 additional finds of runic and Roman letter artefacts were retrieved from the soils of Greenland. The inscriptions were carved on gravesto... read more
Neil Powell has been a dog handler for more than forty years and the dogs in his charge (breeds including the Alsatian, bloodhound, retriever and Labrador) have participated in every kind of search and rescue: from daring mountaineering rescues in the Mourne Mountains to helping to find victims of the Lockerbie bombing, from training the first Drowned Victim Recovery Dogs in Ireland to prepari... read more
The Adventures of Jack and Adam THE BLAZE
Anthony Broderick
Book three in this enthralling new series of ‘The Adventures of Jack and Adam’. Winning isn’t everything, especially when it comes to physical pursuits. Jack and Adam try to enjoy themselves at seemingly wholesome and harmless activities, but soon learn that caution needs to be exercised. There are just some arguments you cannot win outright. Along with learning the value of what they already ... read more
The Adventures of Jack & Adam THE OLD TOWN
Anthony Broderick
Book four in 'The Adventures of Jack and Adam series.' Jack and Adam go on holiday to a faraway destination. The boys are given some freedom to explore their surroundings. However, with freedom comes greater responsibility, as they are about to learn. It seems that some friendly faces that they encounter along the way have a hidden agenda. The brothers have to use the skills that they have acq... read more
The Adventures of Jack and Adam WANTED
Anthony Broderick
Welcome to the beginning of a series of intriguing stories following the adventures of two young brothers and their pets, Club and Diamond, along with their family and friends. ‘Wanted’ introduces you to the brothers, Jack and Adam. Summer holidays are fast approaching, and with the holidays comes a sinister adventure into the strange world of a wayward scientist who inflicts his cruelty upon ... read more
The Adventures of Jack and Adam THE WIDOW
Anthony Broderick
Book two of the exciting new series of ‘The Adventures of Jack and Adam.’ Halloween is approaching and the boys have come to the conclusion of yet another school term. A lot has been learned by Jack and Adam over the past few weeks and they look forward to spending a normal Halloween night in their local neighbourhood. However things take a twist before and during the night that leave the boys... read more
Six papers by international scholars reporting on studies of food production and food consumption in the North Atlantic area during the Viking Age and Norse Period. At least three papers are concerned with ways of cooking and storing and discuss different containers. The Norse/Celtic population around the Irish Sea, such as the Hebrides, was familiar with producing home-made pottery and probab... read more
Pallas Andalucia (Pallas Guide Series)
Michael Jacobs
In this masterly book, now in a third, revised edition, Michael Jacobs looks with fresh eyes at all the traditional delights of Andalucia while doing full justice to the lesser-known aspects of the region. He explores Andalucia's local cuisine, varied natural scenery, the composers and writers who fueled the romantic myths of the region, and the legacy of Lorca and the Spanish Civil War. Inclu... read more
The Book of Howth: Elizabethan Conquest and the Old English
Valerie McGowan-Doyle
This study provides the first sustained address of The Book of Howth and its compiler, Christopher St. Lawrence, 7th baron of Howth (ca. 1510-1589). The Book of Howth ultimately offers a unique and extended Old English perspective on colonial conflict, displacement and identity formation in response to the Tudor question of "failed" conquest and the measures of reform government it generated.
Round Ireland with a Fridge
Tony Hawks
Have you ever made a drunken bet? Worse, still, have you eveer tried to win one? In attempting to hitchhike round Ireland wich a fridge, Tony Hawks did both, and his foolhardiness led him to one of the best experiences of his life. Joined by his trusty traveling companion-cum-domestic appliance, he made his way from Dublin to Donegal, from Sligo through Mayo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, Cork, Wexfor... read more
The Shelter of Neighbours: Fourteen Contemporary Irish Short Stories
Eílís Ní Dhuibhne
‘When the story is finished, Muriel and Polly sit in silence. The coloured lights on the fuchsia bush twinkle against the black sea and the black mountain and the black sky. They sit in silence. They let the story settle.’Drawing on the Irish proverb, Ar Scáth a Chéile a Mhaireann na Daoine – these fourteen stories by acclaimed Irish writer Éilis Ní Dhuibhne draw us into the lives of character... read more
Qeqertasussuk and Qajaa are the only known sites of the early arctic small tool tradition in the Eastern Arctic, where all kinds of organic materials, such as wood, bone, baleen, hair, and skin are preserved in permafrozen culture layers. Together, the sites cover the entire Saqqaq era in Greenland. This book offers technological and contextual analyses of the well-preserved archaeological mat... read more
The Forgotten Gods of Tibet: Early Buddhist Art in the Western Himalayas
Peter van Ham, Aglaja Stirn
Backstreets: Junglist (Backstreets)
Two Fingers, James T. Kirk
The Fencing Master
Arturo Perez-Reverte
The unstoppable thrust is the arcane fencing technique known only by Don Jaime—and the deadly maneuver that a beautiful young woman wants him to teach her.What begins as a rather bold request leads Don Jaime into the shadowy politics and violence of mid-nineteenth-century Madrid.
Simon has 14 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
Working with Simon was an excellent experience. He was very easy to communicate with, and he understood exactly what I was looking for. His report answered all of the questions I had, and more. In addition, he was familiar with the subject matter and even suggested that some facts needed checking.
His report was extremely thorough, covering each chapter of the book. This was in addition to th...
Read more
Nini Christ, June 2022
Simon's report was more comprehensive than I expected, his comments insightful and his suggestions appropriate. I would gladly hire him again.
Sella Pals, June 2022
Simon is a pleasure to work with. He is very knowledgeable, and so supportive.
I would have no problem recommending him as an editor.
Yvonne Lynch, May 2022
Simon is a brilliant editor. His skills will amaze you every step of the way. Feel confident in hiring him to make your work a whole lot better. And now I've said it thrice.
Elisabeth Carroll, March 2022
Simon is smart, thorough and honest.
Brian McCallum, February 2022
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