I have twenty years’ experience as an editor, working on fiction, narrative non-fiction and poetry, with a special interest in translated titles. I have worked for publishers such as Bloomsbury, Profile, Faber & Faber, Bonnier UK, Akoya Publishing, Silver Press and the Poetry Translation Centre as well as directly with writers.
I really love editing; working with writers to help them fulfil their ambitions for a text is incredibly rewarding, as well as huge fun.
Authors and translators I have worked with include Jon McGregor, Craig Taylor, Sarah Howe, Canan Marasligil, Juana Adcock, Vanessa Gebbie, Stephen Kelman, Elizabeth Day, Clare Pollard, Leo Boix, Bryar Bajalan and Shook.
For the Poetry Translation Centre I edited books by leading international poets such as Karin Karakasli (Turkey), Asha Lul Mohamud Yusuf (Somaliland), Víctor Terán (Mexico), Laura Wittner (Argentina) and Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi (Sudan).
Erica’s carefully calibrated edits and the way she approached the text with openness and curiosity really helped my work shine.
Juana Adcock, translator
I was very lucky that Erica had the time to work on final edits on Ed’s Wife and Other Creatures. It is a strange little book, and she entered into the spirit of the creative journey perfectly.
Vanessa Gebbie, author
Editorial work and mentoring
I offer paid manuscript assessment for writers and poets, by email or over Zoom. I also work with publishers on structural edits, copy-edits and proofreads. My areas of expertise are poetry, literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, and translated works in these three genres.
In order to pay it forward, I also offer free mentoring for emerging women poets from Asian backgrounds. This takes the form of three one-hour sessions over a period of three months, either over Zoom or in person in London. If you would benefit from this, please get in touch.
Erica Hesketh 