Writing can be a solitary experience, but it shouldn’t be lonely. Please meet the wonderful editors in the KYD Manuscript Assessment team and learn more about their experience as well as their approach to providing constructive feedback to writers.
Clare Strahan
Genres: Literary fiction and poetics, memoir and literary non-fiction, speculative fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, YA fiction, middle-grade
Next availability: September 2024
‘I’ve been on both sides of the practice and believe editorial feedback must be sensitive and useful. My goal is to honour the writer/book’s unique intentions, voice and style while addressing the conventions that invite us into and guide us through a text—point of view, structure, chronology, pace and narrative drive, dialogue, show and tell, storyline, character and characterisation, tenses, etc. Manuscript assessment is an emotional process, a courageous investment in ourselves and our writing. It’s joyous to get a sense of what’s working well, engage with insightful editorial questions, and have guideposts for developing a draft for the better.’
Clare Strahan has been offering editorial feedback to emerging and established writers across a variety of genres for over ten years. She teaches fiction and creative non-fiction at RMIT’s PWE associate degree, has a Master in Writing for Performance from VCA (Melbourne University), and is undertaking a PhD (creative writing) at La Trobe University. She managed the fiction reading team at Overland Journal for several years, was a peer selection panellist for Varuna, the National Writers House 2014-2016 and a manuscript assessor at Writers Victoria for three years. She is the editor of 5 nonfiction books in the Actor of the Future series. Her two novels are published by Allen & Unwin publishers. Cracked was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and The Learning Curves of Vanessa Partridge (A&U) shortlisted for the Readings YA Prize. She’s the creator of the Literary Rats cartoon and flutters about the X-twittersphere as @9fragments. You can find details of her books here.
Angela Meyer
Genres: Adult commercial & literary fiction, short stories, literary non-fiction/essays, creative practice academic projects. (Special interest: feminist and queer works and those with climate change/environmental themes.)
Next availability: September 2024
‘I love working with manuscripts on the structural level. I understand how difficult it can be to see your work as a whole when you’re so close to it. Every assessment is unique. I approach with openness, try to understand the intentions of the work, raise questions and provide insight, and guide with sensitivity towards practical possibilities and solutions.’
Angela Meyer has worked in the book industry and as a writer and editor for more than 20 years, in a variety of roles, including as a commissioning editor and publisher who acquired and edited a range of award-winning, internationally published and bestselling titles, and a freelance editor for publishers including Penguin Random House, Allen & Unwin, Transit Lounge, Echo Publishing and Welbeck (UK). She is also an award-winning author and a lecturer in the Master of Writing and Publishing at RMIT University.
Mireille Juchau
Genres: Literary fiction, short stories, memoir, essays
Next availability: September 2024
‘When I develop and assess manuscripts I try to stay keenly attuned to the writer’s vision through the entire process. I ask lots of questions! I believe the writer holds all the answers. Teaching at university and judging literary awards has extended my understanding of the creative process and the technical skills required to finish and polish a work for publication.’
Mireille Juchau has worked as an editor, lecturer, critic and writer for more than 20 years. She has published three novels and worked with writers on fiction and non-fiction, academic texts, essays and short story collections. Her criticism has appeared in the Monthly, newyorker.com, Times Literary Supplement and Sydney Review of Books.
Meg Whelan
Genres: Children’s fiction, middle grade fiction, young adult fiction, science fiction, fantasy
Next availability: September 2024
‘For me, structural editing and manuscript development are the most satisfying and joyful parts of the editorial process. I love to work with authors on big questions around pace, plot, character and world-building (I can talk about magic systems, made-up lands or interstellar travel for hours). I always hope to leave an author excited to dive back into writing and confident they have the tools to bring out the best in their story.’
Meg Whelan is a senior editor on the children’s book team at Affirm Press, where she spends her days working on books for young people of all ages. Meg also has many years of bookselling experience, and prior to her role at Affirm Press was the children’s book buyer at the Hill of Content Bookshop in Melbourne.
Kirsten Alexander
Genres: Fiction, non-fiction, memoir
Next availability: September 2024
‘I’ve worked with words for decades, as both an editor (fiction and non-fiction, magazines and websites) and writer (print, online, radio, and as a copywriter for numerous companies). I’ve also been edited by talented publishing professionals. I hope that having been on both sides of the publishing experience has lent me empathy and honed my understanding of craft. As an editor, I aim to offer constructive guidance and support to help writers realise their vision.’
Kirsten Alexander is a writer, editor and copywriter. She has worked in-house as an editor (on fiction and non-fiction) for companies including Text, D.W. Thorpe, Reed and Random House, and freelanced for others, including Penguin Random House. She was in-house copywriter for Aesop for four years, and freelanced for several other organisations. She has been a magazine subeditor in the UK and Australia and article writer, website content manager and reviewer for the ABC Book Show. She is currently working freelance for the Faber Writing Academy. Kirsten initiated, commissioned for, edited and produced the three volumes of digital journal Open Field.
Jasmin McGaughey
Genres: Literary fiction, short stories, memoir, young adult fiction, children’s stories
Next availability: September 2024
‘I got my start in editing through the black&write! program at the State Library of Queensland, which trains First Nations aspiring editors. It was a beautiful experience that encouraged my love for editing and gifted me knowledge of the publishing industry and various editing processes. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be allowed to read and edit early work.’
Jasmin McGaughey is a Torres Strait Islander from the Kulkalgal Nation, and African American. She is an editor and the author of Ash Barty’s Little Ash Series. Her writing has appeared in Overland, Kill Your Darlings, SBS Voices and Griffith Review. She has a Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing through the University of Queensland.
Abigail Nathan
Genres: Commercial and genre fiction for adults and YA, including speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi etc), crime, thrillers, romance
Next availability: October 2024
‘I edit what I love to read, which tends to be anything that gets classified as “genre”—fantasy, sci-fi, romance, crime and anything in between. I get absorbed in the manuscripts I work on and love to engage as both a reader and an editor. My goal is always to help the author get whatever is in their head, onto the page. This means getting to know their characters and worlds, and becoming a kind of editorial chameleon to ensure that any changes or tweaks I’m suggesting are in keeping with the author—and characters’—voices.’
Abigail Nathan has run Bothersome Words since 2004. She has edited for Australian publishers including HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Simon and Schuster, Harlequin, Allen and Unwin and Echo Publishing, as well as UK publishers including Angry Robot, Hachette and Gollancz. She works regularly with emerging and self-publishing writers as an editor, mentor and book coach.
Jennifer Nguyen
Genres: Poetry
Next availability: October 2024
‘My editing approach is friendly and pragmatic. I wish to understand the author’s intention for their work and to edit with a constructive approach that is supportive, kind and helpful. I look at the overall piece to see if the writing is achieving what the writer has set out to do, followed by identifying more specific parts that require attention.’
Jennifer Nguyen is a poet and editor. Her poetry book When I Die Slingshot My Ashes onto the Surface of the Moon (Subbed In, 2018) was a finalist in the Subbed In Chapbook Prize in 2017. Her poem ‘Room Tour in Flux’ was selected to appear in Ultimo Press’ inaugural Ultimo Prize anthology, Everything, All At Once (Ultimo Press, 2021).
Armelle Davies
Genres: Commercial (including crime/thriller) and literary fiction, memoir and narrative non-fiction
Next availability: October 2024
‘Although I enjoy all aspects of editing, working closely with authors to get into the big-picture elements of structure, plot, themes, character and world-building is the most creatively satisfying. It can be daunting to get to the stage with your manuscript where you’re not sure which direction to take it and you can’t see the wood for the trees, but I have seen so many authors become re-energised and excited to get back into the text after we’ve talked through their manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes all it takes is one question or seemingly minor suggestion for the author to see a path to the best version of their story.’
Armelle Davies is a freelance editor working across all genres in trade publishing for adults, both fiction and non-fiction, illustrated and narrative. Before going freelance, she was an in-house editor for six years, first at Fremantle Press and then Affirm Press, where she worked on bestselling and award-winning titles. She lives in Naarm/Melbourne.
Ceridwen Dovey
Genres: Literary fiction, commercial fiction, short stories, narrative non-fiction, essays, poetry, memoir
Next availability: November 2024
‘I will be reading your work as a fellow writer who knows how books get built from the ground up, and as an editor who knows how different the crafting stage of writing is from the drafting phase. I know is how much courage it takes to share your creative work with someone else, and how vulnerable it can make you feel. I promise I will respect that bond of trust and give you feedback that is honest and gentle.’
Cerdiwen Dovey is the award-winning author of six books with Penguin Random House, including Only the Animals and In the Garden of the Fugitives. Her non-fiction has been published by newyorker.com, the Smithsonian Magazine, WIRED, the Monthly, Vogue and Alexander. She also writes commercial fiction for Audible.
Anna Thwaites
Genres: Literary fiction, short stories, memoir, narrative non-fiction
Next availability: November 2024
‘Manuscript assessment and structural notes are my favourite parts of any editorial process. Helping a writer to work on the real shape and substance of their manuscript. To try, together, to get to the bottom of what it’s really about, and then examine, develop, rework and/or polish every part of it so that everything is communicating the story in the clearest, most affecting and absorbing way possible—well, what work could be more satisfying?’
Anna Thwaites has worked for ten years as an editor, including three years at Arena Magazine, a year at Pearson, and five years at Scribe Publications, and is now a freelance editor for a range of trade publishers.
Coco McGrath
Genres: Genre fiction, memoir, non-fiction, literary fiction, short stories
Next availability: November 2024
‘Like so many of us bookish folk, I’m always keen to dissect the best use of a spaced en dash, but I’m infinitely more interested in the bare bones of a story: plot, characters and motivations, and how these dynamics shift and tug the reader through the story. I work mostly within literary fiction and memoir, though in the past I’ve also loved working on commercial fiction, short stories and thriller titles. I’m happiest when I can support an author to construct the scaffolding for their story in a way that honours their creative vision and engages readers.’
Coco McGrath has worked in the book industry for over ten years, with roles at Griffith Review, Collins Booksellers and Affirm Press. As an editor, she has a breadth of experience across genre fiction, memoir, non-fiction and literary fiction, and specialises in structural editing.
Lauren Finger
Genres: Commercial fiction: crime, thrillers, romance
Next availability: November 2024
‘I specialise in commercial fiction because I love working on great stories that entertain, engage, comfort and thrill readers, and with the writers who create them. As an editor, I am warm and approachable, supportive and constructive. What I find satisfying as an editor is helping writers on their journey to sharing their stories—whether that be with a small group of people, or the world.’
Lauren Finger has worked in publishing since 2001. She spent a decade at Allen & Unwin before moving to the UK to work at Atlantic Books and then Bookouture. She now works as a freelance editor back in Australia and her clients include Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Pantera Press, Harpeth Road Press, Brio Books, Bookouture and Allen & Unwin.
Camha Pham
Genres: Literary fiction, short stories, essay collections and creative non-fiction.
Next availability: November 2024
‘Editing, for me, is very much about entering into a space of dialogue and collaboration with the author, helping them to realise their original intentions with the manuscript. What I hope with all of the writers I work with is that they have walked away having learnt something, whether it be something technical about language or about their own practice, so that they can ultimately feel empowered by the editorial process and grow as a writer.’
Camha Pham is an accredited freelance editor based in Naarm/Melbourne, with over ten years of experience in the publishing industry. As a freelancer, she has worked on copyediting and proofreading projects for publishers including Hachette, UQP, Hardie Grant, Affirm Press and Pantera Press, among others. She also works in the industry as a mentor and manuscript assessor, and has previously worked in-house at Oxford University Press and Margaret River Press.
Kate Goldsworthy
Genres: Literary fiction, crime fiction, romance, young-adult fiction, speculative fiction, memoir, narrative non-fiction, true crime
Next availability: January 2025
‘I love working with authors on their early drafts. There’s so much freedom at that stage in the revision process, with lots of time and space for experimentation. You can luxuriate in crafting the best possible version of your manuscript, and it’s a good idea to have a professional editor in your corner who can help you take a step back to see the big picture.’
Kate Goldsworthy has worked on trade books since 2010. As a freelance editor, she has worked for Allen & Unwin, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Black Inc., Text Publishing, Affirm Press, Ventura Press, Transit Lounge and Echo Publishing. She also worked in-house at Black Inc.
Elena Gomez
Genres: Literary fiction, crime, thrillers, historical fiction, short stories, narrative non- fiction, memoir, history, personal development
Next availability: January 2025
‘The writer–editor relationship is special. The creative process, especially in that formative writing period, is so important, and I enjoy the collaborative and supportive aspects of my editorial role. To finish writing a book is a huge accomplishment, and it’s an honour when someone trusts me to read their work. I strive to be an honest and useful reader for the author.’
Elena Gomez has worked in book publishing for over a decade, most recently at Text Publishing and Penguin Random House, where she was deputy managing editor. As a freelance editor, she has worked with a range of publishers and authors, including Miles Franklin Award-winner Jennifer Down. She is also published poet of collections Body of Work (2018) and Admit the Joyous Passion of Revolt (2020).
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