Testimonials

“Sean has rare skills. He is both a good writer and an excellent editor. That's a surprisingly rare combination. Too many editors are frustrated writers. But his time on one of the more challenging beats at New Scientist – trying to write and edit compelling copy to bring out the personalities and hidden charisma of boffins and geeks – showed everyone how it should be done. As an editor, he is sympathetic to the thoughts and styles of both writers and subjects. As a writer he shows real intelligence in finding great angles to bring subjects alive.”

FRED PEARCE

Journalist and author on the environment and science

"I worked with Sean at New Scientist for several years. As the online sub-editor, he proofed and rewrote copy to a high standard at high speed. I greatly valued his input and suggestions, which were generally excellent. He is a fantastic writer, an ace sub-editor, and an all-round terrific bloke. Highly professional and great under pressure, but also creative and very funny. I highly recommend him."

Will Knight

Senior Writer, Wired (formerly Senior Editor, MIT Technology Review)

"I worked with Sean when I was Digital Editor for New Scientist. Sean is a talented writer and journalist, who is particularly good at promoting his content online through social media engagement. His lively prose comes through especially well on social channels such as Twitter and Facebook and we trusted Sean to post directly to our business-critical social accounts."

Flora Graham

Senior Editor, Nature Briefing

"I pitched story ideas to Sean when he was editor of People at New Scientist and we worked closely on each story from first draft through to final publication. Sean was a terrific editor to work with. He's committed to high quality journalism and as an editor combines great attention to detail with big picture thinking. He has a knack for being both incisive and supportive with feedback that as a freelancer motivates you to give him the best you've got. I learned a lot from him and all of the stories I worked on with him were improved by this process."

Gina Perry

Author and Psychologist

"I worked at New Scientist with Sean when he was a subeditor there and then commissioned him as a freelance proofreader once we had both left. When I was on a tight deadline, he proofed two public-facing reports for a mental health research charity, a total of 45 pages, in a single day. I say proofed but he did so much more than highlight spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. He picked up formatting inconsistencies, made suggestions for design amendments, tweaked clumsy wording and pointed out where more context was needed. But, importantly, he did all this without making me feel like I had a burdensome amount of work left to do. Once myself and the designer had made his amendments, I felt really confident that what we had was a high quality product. The feedback from my colleagues and people who have received the report has been great. I would highly recommend Sean."

Jessica Bond

Freelance researcher and writer

"Sean is a brilliant editor with an eye for detail and the unteachable knack for turning bland copy into something that’s punchy and a must-read. I really enjoyed working with him."

Niall Firth

News Editor, MIT Technology Review

Sean was a pleasure to manage. He's a self-starter, and a fast and reliable editor. A positive force in the office and a producer of high quality, witty work. I've already commissioned him since he went freelance and he turned a piece around in a matter of hours. No hesitation in recommending him to all.

Rowan Hooper

Head of Features, New Scientist

"I worked with Sean for many years at New Scientist and always found him to be fast, skilled and dependable. He has a gift for creating eye-catching headlines or witty phrases that can elevate a previously ordinary piece of prose to something of high quality. He is also adept at working remotely, flexibly and independently, as he proved when I managed him during his year in San Francisco. He seamlessly and professionally dealt with stories and colleagues in other time zones (Boston, London and Sydney). This was in no small part down to his excellent communication skills. I’d thoroughly recommend him."

CHRIS SIMMS

Former Chief Subeditor, New Scientist

"Sean is a talented and diligent editor. He knows how to turn average words into good words, and good words into great words."

Nic Fleming

Freelance journalist and editor

"Sean is an experienced, thorough and reliable editor: technologically adept and top-notch people skills."

Julian Richards

Managing Editor at openDemocracy