Curriculum Vitae

February 2008 – present

Full–time freelancer, subeditor and copywriter, with commissions including:

  • www.thelondonword.com - Editor of the Living Well section for this popular London culture website, writing about beauty, spas, health, fitness, relationships, wellness, eco and green living.
  • Canary Wharf and City Life: Features writer and sub-editor of these high–end luxury titles, writing on diamonds, travel, health and beauty, good food and wine, investments, stock and shares.
  • Editor, unteachable.net - Editor of this irreverent, topical blog on all aspects of teaching and education today.
  • Leader: Regular contributor to Association of School of College Leadership magazine, Leader, writing articles on social and emotional behaviour in schools, financial consulting and school management.
  • SecEd: Regular contributor for this successful education publication writing about SEAL, financial management and leadership.
  • Real Food: Freelance writer and sub-editor for Tesco Real Food Magazine, writing features on producers and farmers, recipes and fresh food ideas, picture captions and top tips and interesting facts. Angel Magazine: Monthly freelancer for London-based Angel magazine, writing about city farms, local attractions, reviews and travel destinations.
  • Youthnet - Regular contributor to this website, writing about GCSEs, qualifications, personality profiling and gap years.
  • GapYearGuru: writer and editor for this company specialising in adult gap years, responsible for working to a specific client brief, writing and developing their website, managing case studies, news, features, ideas, top travel tips, advice and information.
  • Future Leaders: copywriter for this education charity writing newsletters, case studies and online copy.
  • PR: various PR commissions for Capita and Logica, including press releases, opinion pieces and case studies.
  • Ole magazine: Ole is an office culture/lifestyle title. I wrote a number of articles and columns covering topics such as: surviving the office Christmas party; things to do in London in the summer; avoiding Valentines day pitfalls; discipline and dismissal issues at work and how to ‘feng shui’ your office.

October 2005 - February 2008
Editor of education and health magazines Education Executive and Practice Business

  • The role involved driving the editorial strategy for both magazines, recruiting and managing an editorial team and commissioning articles and freelancers, all monthly planning, writing features and news, conducting interviews with readers and industry professionals, proofing, subbing and approving design, and managing an editorial budget.
  • Involved in launching a new education magazine, responsible for planning and researching the market, assessing competition, writing marketing and promotional material and driving the overall success of the new publication.
  • Content was high-level business and financial management, government policy analysis and comment, as well as articles on employment law, health and safety, HR and office culture. This required a considerable and acute knowledge of two complex public sectors, as well as a solid understanding of business terminology, financials, government policy, initiatives and funding streams.
  • Readership for the magazines was business and financial managers in schools and general practice respectively – which meant writing for a niche and specific audience, regularly taking breaking news stories and having to present them from a unique viewpoint.
  • The two sectors – education and health - are heavily saturated with free magazines and journals; to set ourselves apart from the competition and remain the market leaders required a constantly innovative and bold approach to all aspects of the editorial.

August 2005
Editor, Thames Leisure Week

  • Chosen as editor from a group of twelve journalists to manage the team in launching this new London title as part of the PMA Journalism Diploma. Built up strong working relationships with industry execs, government bodies and professionals and other journalists, attended several high-profile launches, was responsible for developing the editorial direction of the magazine and ensuring everything was delivered on time and to a high standard.

July-Sept 2005
PMA Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism

  • NCTJ approved intensive course covering news and feature writing, interviewing, subbing, shorthand, media law, Quark and PhotoShop. Approved by the Periodicals Training Council.

September 2004-June 2005
Production editor Legalease

  • Sub-editor, including proof-reading, subbing and laying out copy, using QuarkXPress and PhotoShop, as well an overall understanding of the legal profession.

Education
Royal Holloway, University of London (2004 MA Literature, Merit)
Royal Holloway, University of London (2000-2003 BA English and Theatre Studies 2(1))
Stonar School, Wiltshire (1999 A-Levels English, Drama, Art: A A B)

Interests
I take a healthy interest in a range of topics outside of work, including current affairs, popular culture, literature and theatre, film, music, fashion, food and wine, interior design, city life, and sports – including football, rugby and snooker. I have travelled to India, Uganda, the Philippines, Malaysia, Italy, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand among others – and have trips planned to Morocco, Auschwitz in Poland and Madrid.

References:
On request: emma@emmamills.com