About Book Nanny

Bernadette Kearns

Book Nanny Writing and Editing Services © Bernadette Kearns 2013-2018

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.

I am a Member of the Irish Institute of Legal Executives and specialise in legal matters for owners’ management companies, contract and commercial law as well as other conveyancing and litigation areas.

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, project management and proofreading services to educational and RPG publishers.

Professional memberships

Member of the Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers of Ireland (AFEPI Ireland).

AFEPI Ireland member

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

Contact Book Nanny

Book Nanny Writing and Editing Services © Bernadette Kearns 2018

Book Nanny: nursing and nurturing for all your creative writing and business needs