Book Publishing Freelancers from Diverse Communities Database

Barbra Rodriguez is a versatile, efficient editor and writer who works with publishing houses such as W.W. Norton and Catapult, independent authors, and long-form content clients in the sciences, conservation, diversity and equity, health, spirituality and other topics around healthy living. Recent work includes editing a memoir about growing up as a farmworker in Texas, web educational modules for physicians for the State of Texas, and annual reports and web pages for The Nature Conservancy, as well as writing conference reports about the mental health challenges of underserved students in higher education. Barbra is also ghostwriting a book on social justice activism, and has edited engineering and geological sciences magazines.

Before becoming a full-time freelancer in 2016, she worked for over a decade as a communicator of medical, life science, and sustainable landscaping research at universities, including managing several institutional magazines. She aced the copyediting certificate program of UC, San Diego in 2019. Her writing honors include two national health ones for an AARP Latino magazine feature. It is among a dozen-plus articles she has written for national publications since 1998. A member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and the American Society of Journalists and Authors, she has also ghostwritten for college deans, the director of a conservation organization, engineers, and physicians. She is also an avid exerciser and black belt in the Japanese art of Aikido, which is mindfulness-based.

Email: barbra@vitalwordplay.com

I’m a storyteller (writer & speaker), & book reviewer, passionate about diverse representation in literature & media. I have done freelance sensitivity reading & content Writing & editing for years, including brand statements, website content, applications, children’s books & content, & YA novel “You Asked For Perfect”, by Laura Silverman (March, 2019). I am an experienced sensitivity reader & editor for a variety of different identities, based on lived experience & research (including: South Asian (Pakistani); Muslim; Fat; Queer (bisexual & pansexual); & disables (chronic illness + chronic pain) identities).

Passionate about storytelling of all kinds, Emily is a recent BA graduate with a degree in Creative Writing and Cultural Studies from UBC Okanagan. Her work has appeared in fiction anthologies, newspaper, and on the screen. She has past experience working as a university-level writing consultant; and currently reviews books on digital platforms like Netgalley and Instagram. She is in the process of completing the Publishing Certificate offered at Ryerson University.

I am a graduate of the Bachelor of Communication Studies program at MacEwan University, where I was also a founding member of the Bolo Time Collective, MacEwan’s creative writing club. The Collective publishes an annual anthology, for which I have served as fiction and poetry editor. I have work in WestWord Magazine, Crab Fat Magazine, and other publications, and serve as writer for the upcoming mobile game OtherWordly. In 2020 I was chosen as an Edmonton Public Library Featured Writer.

Email: seedavisg@gmail.com

I am a dynamic freelance copywriter with a strong foundation in creating compelling content for meal delivery brands. With experience crafting persuasive copy and expertise in headlines, direct mail, and email campaigns, I specialize in driving engagement and delivering results.

My professional background spans international development research, nonprofit event management, and sales, equipping me with a unique perspective and adaptability in my work. Beyond copywriting, I offer services in editing, proofreading, and sensitivity reading, ensuring messaging that is polished and inclusive. I also specialize in academia, crafting clear and impactful research summaries and academic communications.

As an accomplished photographer, I leverage my creative eye to tell stories visually, complementing my written work. My approach is inspired by a passion for landscapes, landmarks, and living history, creating a cohesive blend of creativity and storytelling.

Email: tumaini.shoo@gmail.com

Email: amarie7989@gmail.com

I am a writer, editor, artist, and academic living on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh land (known as Vancouver, British Columbia). I was the editor of Disabled Voices Anthology (Rebel Mountain Press, 2020), and my writing and/or artwork has been published in Maclean’s, Arc Poetry Magazine, anti-lang., Five Dials, Rooted in Rights, Portal, Burning Jade Magazine, Sad Girl Review, Navigator Student Press, and more.
My pronouns are she and they. I am a fat, genderqueer, bisexual, mad, and disabled person of poor, chronically-ill Scottish and Irish descent.
I am an interdisciplinary culture worker centring disabled narratives (of my own experience, primarily). I approach all my work using a disability justice theoretical framework and strive to create work for other disabled people to meaningfully engage with.

Mary Kay Stam has 20 years’ experience in print and digital design, 12 of them as an art director,00 which includes copy writing and editing. An award-winning fine artist, she’s shown her work in Los Angeles galleries and illustrated many books. She is currently freelancing for Acute by Design publishing, editing, designing and illustrating children’s books, fiction and young adult fiction.

Email: mk@stam-art.com

I’m an award winning novelist and poet and designer. I’m the author of the novels MY VOLCANO and VANISHING MONUMENTS (both Arsenal Pulp in Canada), and the poetry collection JUNEBAT (Anansi). I collaborated with Arsenal for the cover of VANISHING MONUMENTS (the illustration is my own) and designed the US cover of my novel MY VOLCANO (Two Dollar Radio). I’ve done a lot of cover and book design work in smaller capacities, for instance for an art-project by Hazel Jane Plante called Miscellanious Kisses, and various chapbooks and magazines in undergrad. Most recently, I did a cover for a forthcoming poetry collection from Coffee House Press.

In terms of editorial work, I’ve been teaching writing for the last 5 years, and have edited books for Arsenal Pulp (poetry) and Book*hug Press (fiction). I also edit poetry for Contemporary Verse 2, and have read and worked on various other magazines over the years. I am friendly to more experimental and queer fiction, as well as more traditional work, and am particularly interested in helping trans and queer authors with their work, but am open minded to all kinds of books, so long as they are a strong fit for my editorial vision.

Email: johnstintzi@gmail.com

I am a writer and editor of bestselling narrative nonfiction. I was an acquiring editor for fifteen years, first for Penguin Random House and then Simon and Schuster, specializing in memoir and biography, culture, business, history, politics, sports, and humour. Books I’ve edited have won or been listed for many of Canada’s top prizes such as the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize, the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, the Governor General’s Award, and the Alberta Book Award. I’m a life-long learner and generalist who enjoys helping authors figure out what they most want to say and how best to say it. I’m also an experienced academic editor, having worked on various scholarly articles for publication in journals. I hold a BA in English from the University of Toronto and a certificate in Book and Magazine Publishing from Centennial College in Toronto. I live in Hamilton, Ontario, where all the cool kids go.

Email: Justinmarkstoller@gmail.com