Editorial work

Paula provides predominantly sensitivity reading services on manuscripts, as well as editing and proofreading, for editors and authors at various UK publishing houses.

Her lens, insights and expertise as a Black queer woman historian and researcher come to the fore as a sensitivity reader. Paula’s background in histories of the African diaspora, colonisation and language aids her work across genres, from cookbooks and historical texts to dialogues and descriptions in fiction works.

With detailed notes, line edits and clear feedback, her approach is collaborative with a view to ensure that the material is accessible, streamlined and fact-checked.

Titles Paula has worked on include:

• WANT by Gillian Anderson (Bloomsbury)
• KEEP THE RECEIPTS by The Receipts Podcast (Headline)
• TART by Slutty Cheff (Bloomsbury)
• BEFORE WE WERE TRANS by Kit Heyam (John Murray Press)
• THE GOOD ALLY by Nova Reid (HQ)
• THE BLOOD FLOWER by Alex Reeve (Bloomsbury)
• DOPE BLACK DADS by Marvyn Harrison (Vintage)
• BONDING by Mariel Franklin (Pan Macmillan)
• THE LONG LONDON series by Alan Moore (Bloomsbury)

Testimonials

I’ve worked with Paula on multiple books and each time I knew the author was in safe hands. As a sensitivity reader, Paula doesn’t miss anything, but gives nuanced, thoughtful and expert advice to authors, who are seeking perspectives and histories they may have missed. She also works to deadline and to brief – I cannot recommend her more highly. 
— Lauren Whybrow, former Senior Managing Editor at Bloomsbury (now Editorial Director at Batsford Books)

Paula has provided us with an insightful and thorough sensitivity read for one of our titles. Her suggestions and flagged issues were well organised, easy to understand and informative and her work was prompt. I would very happily work with Paula again.
— Rhiannon Roy, Managing Editor at Vintage

I have used Paula’s sensitivity reading services for two books now and each time I’ve been immensely grateful for her wisdom, clarity and attention to detail. She is able to bring a nuanced lens to examining the representation of race (and especially Blackness) in my work, at a level that goes well beyond mere vocabulary, and her comments consistently manage to combine kindness with precision. Her work is an essential part of ensuring my writing lives up to its ethical ambitions.
— Kit Heyam, author of BEFORE WE WERE TRANS and forthcoming OUR TREE HAS ROOTS

If you’d like to enquire about a sensitivity read or other editorial work, please get in touch via the contact page.