Bernadette Kearns
I’ve been around books, writing, theatre and drama all my life. Writing and literature were my first loves. I studied English literature and German language and literature at University College Dublin. Thankfully, despite my involvement in DramSoc, which saw me abscond in the weeks before my finals for a summer acting gig, I graduated with a BA Honours Degree. I moved to London and, after many adventures, graduated from one of the UK’s top drama schools, Rose Bruford College, with a BA Honours Degree (First Class) in Theatre Arts.
I worked in London for many years and experienced first-hand a diverse range of industries, companies and people—always useful for an actor, writer and editor. I worked with The Times newspaper, Chanel, barristers’ law chambers, financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley and the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE) and a unique stint with publishing house Fourth Estate where I came face-to-face with the dreaded manuscript slush piles.
On returning to Dublin, I retrained as a legal executive and wrote screenplays. One of my treatments was optioned by a TV production company in 2005.
As a legal executive, I was a Member of the Irish Institute of Legal Executives and specialised in legal reviews of commercial contracts and service agreements, as well as conveyancing, litigation (including personal injury), and family law.
I speak fluent German and have a Certificate in Legal German from the Law Society of Ireland and Goethe Institute. I’ve translated legal documents from German to English, I’ve been a script consultant for a film production company and I’ve facilitated drama and creative writing workshops for schools, amateur drama groups and writers.
I founded Book Nanny Writing and Editing Services in 2013 because I discovered my passion for editing and working with writers. My own novel, The Angel Key (literary crime fiction with a supernatural twist), was longlisted for the Irish Writers’ Centre Novel Fair 2017. I was awarded an Arts Council Literature Bursary Award, also in 2017. I’m also working on a fantasy/SF novel.
I specialise in fiction editing for authors—indie and traditionally published. I also provide line and copy-editing and proofreading services to educational and RPG-gaming publishers.
Professional memberships
Member of the Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers of Ireland (AFEPI Ireland).
Professional Training and CPD
- Editorial Project Management, CIEP, 2023
- Advanced Copy-editing, PTC, 2019
- Fiction Editing with Brian Langan, Publishing Ireland, 2018
- Getting your Self-Published Client to a Finished Product, Editors Canada, 2018
- Adobe InDesign, Part 1, Publishing Ireland, 2017
- Practical Mark-up of PDFs, SfEP, 2017
- Progress in Editorial Skills: Copy-editing and Proofreading, PTC, 2017
- Manuscript Evaluation—Fiction, Editor’s Academy from Copyediting, 2017
- Introduction to Proofreading, SfEP, 2017
- Writing and Editing for the Web, PTC, 2016
- Non-Fiction Editing with Fergal Tobin, Publishing Ireland, 2016
- Rewriting and Substantive Editing, PTC, 2016
- Finishing your Novel with Conor Kostick, Irish Writers Centre, 2009
- Certificate in Legal German, Goethe Institute/Law Society of Ireland, 2009
- Masterclass with author, Claire Keegan, (x 3), (2006/2007)
- Advanced Scriptwriting Course for TV, Screen Training Ireland, 2002
- Summer Course in Film Production, UCD Film School, 1997
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