‘Where are you from?’ is a question that tends to come up for me. I’ve whittled the answer down, at last: I was born and raised in Italy (my New Zealand-born father worked in Rome), studied and worked in the UK (London), and then emigrated to Australia (where I live with my family in Sydney) – a life in three parts, you might say.
My professional life is more linear – I’ve always, in one capacity or another, worked with words. After completing my Masters at Leeds University, I worked as an editor with various publishing houses in London including Collins, Heinemann and Routledge – an unforgiving time due to the lingering effects of the depression of the early 1980s, but one which taught me everything there is to know about how books are published. In Sydney, I worked again for academic publishers (Horwitz and Cambridge University Press), then branched out to TAFE and the State Library of NSW before turning freelance. The testimonials of the various commissioning editors and authors I’ve worked with are here.
In 2015 I set up my own imprint Black Quill Press to independently publish my late mother’s books Jerome & His Women (2015) and A Roman Death (2017). I also edited and published Chinese Whispers: In Search of Ivy (2018) for independent author Alison Choy Flannigan, and finally my own writing guide, the Mini Style Guide (2019), born out of all the questions put to me as an editor over the years.
I also write poetry. I’ve always written it, but only recently started pulling it out of drawers and reworking it – as well as writing new poems. More and more I’m drawn to the succinct nature of poetry and its unique ability to distill experience. I’m fortunate to have been published in literary magazines and journals, and you can read my poetry here. The Beating Heart is due to be published in August 2020 by Ginninderra Press. As Poetry Editor for Australia and New Zealand for The Blue Nib, my finger is kept firmly on the poetic pulse!
Sheridan
‘As a fledgling writer of creative fiction, I found Denise’s support invaluable, especially her broad comments about structure, and how content is taken up and understood by the reader.’
Sheriden Sommerley, Lecturer, University of Newcastle
Mark Avery
‘I highly recommend Denise. She was astonishingly thorough. Her recommendations were invaluable, and she made them so respectfully that at no time did I get the feeling she was telling me what to do.’
Mark Avery, author of The Umpteen Keys to Resilience, Sydney
Sarkus
‘Denise made an immense contribution to my Masters in Clinical Dentistry. Her professionalism and editorial and linguistic skills were instrumental in the subsequent publishing of my dissertation.’
Dr Sarkis Nalbandian, Prosthodontics and Implant Surgery, Sydney
Lori
‘Denise was invaluable in assisting me in preparing a significant 10,000-word case presentation, “Psychotherapy Case”. I wholeheartedly recommend her work.’
Dr Lori Aranha, Psychiatrist, Sydney
Norma
‘In restructuring my book, Denise proved herself an editor of vast experience and capability. Her methods were lucid and she encouraged me to question her suggestions. I really enjoyed working with her.’
Norma Delgarno, author of Becoming Karl: A brain-injured baby’s journey to recovery, Wildcat Publications, Auckland
David
‘As consulting editor on the State Library’s new website, Denise wrote the Editorial Guideline for Writers and restructured and edited much of the website and Library publications. She was highly professional and a pleasure to work with.’
David Drinkwater, State Library of New South Wales
Rema
‘Denise is a meticulous and reliable editor, able to work independently and take editorial charge of a project. She liaises and negotiates editorial changes with authors with great skill.’
Rema Gnanadickam, Horwitz Educational Publishers, Sydney
Andrew
‘The success of Maths-in-a-Box is largely due to the diligence, professionalism and dedication of Denise.’
Andrew Woods, author of the Maths-in-Box series, Cambridge University Press, Sydney
