editing portfolio
As arts and culture editor at The Conversation, I generate ideas for features with unique research-driven angles that are pegged to the news. I then find the appropriate academic and help them write for a general audience. My beat covers art, film, theatre, sport and lifestyle stories. Here is a small selection of the pieces I have enjoyed working on.
Something Good newsletter
A product I pitched and now lead on. The Conversation’s bi-monthly arts newsletter cuts through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions as reviewed by experts. It has been shortlisted for best entertainment/culture newsletter and best new release at the 2024 Publisher’s Newsletter Awards. It has also been shortlisted for best newsletter (National/International) at the 2024 Press Gazette Future of Media Awards.
Beatrix Potter's famous tales are rooted in stories told by enslaved Africans
A writer I have worked with many times, I read her research and found this line buried in it. I conducted a lot of archival research for this piece. It has received high reads on-site but was also picked up by The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Spectator, The Times and Fox News. (354,935 reads)
Who was Marthe Bonnard? New evidence paints a different picture of Pierre Bonnard’s wife and mode
Based on original research. I helped the academic translate their academic ideas for a general audience and write in a more narrative-driven style. The piece was published in tandem with The Observer. (24,910 reads)
Cluttercore: Gen Z’s revolt against millennial minimalism is grounded in Victorian excess
Inspired by watching a lot of Tik Tok, this piece was commissioned for The Conversation’s Quarter Life vertical, which aims to increase engagement of younger readers. It charts interior design trends and their connection with changing culture and the economy. (259,191 reads)
Squid Game: the real debt crisis shaking South Korea that inspired the hit TV show
A deeply academic field of study applied to pop culture. This piece provided interesting context to a show that was trending. (160,227 reads)
Wordle – the best word to start the game, according to a language researcher
Commissioned in the early days of Worlde-mania. David is an expert in language and was able to write a research-driven piece on what would make the best starting word. (814,098 reads)
How I found the potential lost works of the great British painter William Hogarth – new research
The academic approached me with this new research to help them write an article for a general audience. I helped them work out the correct angle, structure and writing style. I also helped get further coverage in The Times . This piece is based on original research that discovered that paintings at Littlecote House, Berkshire were likely early paintings by William Hogarth. (10,029 reads)
Maradona: why the English can’t let go of the Hand of God and Latin Americans love it
Feature published the day after Maradona’s death. I sought out an academic who was an expert in football in South American and the politics of it who could write about how the Hand of God was perceived in Latin America against the UK and what that says about Britain’s relationship with the region. (51,934 reads)