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.

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).

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