I’m a copy editor and proofreader with twenty years of experience. My focus and specialty is scholarly nonfiction, and I enjoy working with a number of university presses in Canada. My interests also include short fiction and autobiography. Please see examples of my work here.
Background
My pronouns are she/her/hers. I am Iñupiaq (Alaskan Native) on my mother’s side and settler on my father’s. I was born and raised as an uninvited guest in the unceded territories of First Nations in BC. Today I live in beautiful unceded Stz’uminus territory on Vancouver Island.
I got into publishing at a young age when I joined Redwire Magazine as a self-taught copy editor. I became a freelance editor shortly after and continued to work during my undergrad studies, where I majored in philosophy. Studying the critical analysis and synthesis of complex ideas taught me to engage deeply with texts of all kinds. This training allows me to help authors in any field clarify and strengthen their writing. The care and respect I’ve been shown and taught by my mentors in Indigenous publishing allow me to do so in a warm and sensitive manner, prioritizing the author’s goals and voice. In 2017 I attended the Indigenous Editors Circle and helped to found the Indigenous Editors Association (IEA), where today I am an active member and advisor.
In 2019 I completed the Master of Publishing program at Simon Fraser University. During my studies I enjoyed a work placement with Theytus Books, the oldest Indigenous publishing house in Canada. My graduate thesis, “Gathering Knowledges to Inform Best Practices in Indigenous Publishing,” was based on this work and on original interviews with publishing professionals and Indigenous community members. A version of the paper was subsequently published in ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature.