Patricia Simmons

Having a PhD in English from Cambridge and decades of experience, I am a careful reader, attentive to precision and nuance in thought and expression. 

I enjoy working directly with authors in various genres; I have intellectual interests in literature, history, moral and political philosophy, feminist critical theory, education, health, trauma, memory, pain, and psychoneuroimmunology; and I have strong commitments to ethics, education, health, equity, social justice, and plain language.

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EDITING SERVICES

1) Fiction & Non-Fiction

Painstaking structural, stylistic, and
copy editing of the following materials:

     • literary fiction (esp. short stories)

     • creative non-fiction (e.g., personal essays, life writing, mixed genres)

     • non-fiction (esp. research-based, theoretical, big-picture or paradigm-shifting analyses for an educated, non-specialist audience)

2) Academic / Scholarly Work

Painstaking structural, stylistic, and
copy editing of the following materials:

     • articles, chapters, and books (esp. in the humanities and social sciences, including theoretical and multidisciplinary approaches)

     • presentations (e.g., conference papers and lectures)

     • instructional materials (print or digital)

     • application materials

1. professional programs
2. internships, postdoctoral fellowships, or contractually limited appointments
3. tenure-track positions
4. internal and/or external grants or awards
5. funding: provincial, national, and international
6. promotion and tenure

3) Graduate Students

copy editing* and (limited) stylistic editing* of the following materials:

1. doctoral dissertations*
2. master’s theses*
3. journal articles*
4. conference presentations*

*with supervisory and institutional approval (in keeping with Editors Canada’s ethical guidelines for editing student texts to be submitted for academic credit)

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  Do You Need

     • feedback on the structure of a short story, journal article, or book?

     • strategies to respond to reviewers’ critiques?

     • suggestions for where to tighten or expand?

     • revision to make your words sing?

     • conformity to a particular style guide?

I can likely help; if not, I will try to connect you with an appropriate editor to meet your needs.

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EDUCATION & RELATED EXPERIENCE

• PhD in English (Cambridge); MA in English (McMaster); Combined Honours BA in English & Political Science (McMaster); courses on copy editing and publishing in education from Ryerson

• I worked in academia for several decades as a researcher, writer, post-doctoral fellow, lecturer, editor, writing coach/consultant, library research instructor, and publishing assistant.

• Having myself won significant awards for academic research from provincial, national, and international sources of funding, I have offered workshops about academic writing and how to apply for fellowships.

• I have presented papers and chaired sessions at academic conferences in Canada, the USA, and the UK, and I have attended conferences and workshops about writing, editing, and public speaking. 

• I have worked with scholars and graduate students whose first language is not English.

• Materials edited: short stories, fiction, and screenplays; creative non-fiction; scholarly writing for publication (journal articles and books); dissertations and theses (across a wide range of academic disciplines); conference papers; lectures; and application materials for professional programs, promotion, and funding

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BIO

After completing my PhD in English at the University of Cambridge (King’s College), I was a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Toronto and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies (Victoria College, University of Toronto). I worked at the University of New Brunswick for more than a decade in several roles that involved research, writing, editing, and scholarly publication before opening my own business, perSimmons editing.

In addition to extensive experience in academia, I have had significant work experience in retail banking and communications marketing.

Born and raised in Toronto, I have travelled, studied, and lived in different cities across Canada, the USA, the UK, and Europe. For more than a decade now, I’ve called Fredericton home.