Editor
I work alongside you to make your writing project the best it can be. I put a high priority on enhancing your voice as an author, rather than replacing it with my own.
For more than ten years I’ve worked with a diverse range of authors and publishers, from Parliament’s Hansard to leading publishers like Te Herenga Waka University Press, Bridget Williams Books, and Te Tākupu.
I’m an IPED Accredited Editor and a member of the NZ Society of Manuscript Assessors. This means you can trust my advice, knowing that I meet high industry standards and update my skills regularly.
Whether it’s a freelance editing project, proofreading, or manuscript advice, please get in touch to see how I can help you.
Editing Projects
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Recent projects include literary titles Star Gazers (Te Herenga Waka University Press (THWUP), forthcoming in 2025), kitten, (THWUP, 2024), Dream Girl (THWUP, 2023), Tauhou (THWUP, 2022) and The Ani Waaka Room (Te Tākupu, 2022).
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Recent titles include Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History (Bridget Williams Books, forthcoming in Oct 2023), Towards a Grammar of Race (Bridget Williams Books, 2022) and The Mermaid Boy (Hue & Cry Press, 2015)
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Hue & Cry Journal. I worked on this art and literary journal as literary co-editor.
o Issue 3: Good Times, Bad Times
o Issue 4: Champion This!
o Issue 5: With a Bullet
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Trees: We Love Them All. A collection of writing, photos, and artwork by 26 contributors. Designer: Go Ahead Graphics. Cover image: Mike Glover.
“I had the pleasure of working with Lawrence Patchett on a number of books over a number of years. He showed me what it meant to be a good editor—the care, the patience, the generosity that is required. He has an astute eye, an unwavering love for the written word, and an incredible capacity to see the work and what it's trying to do, and then to help make it better.”
— Chloe Lane, publisher, Hue & Cry Press; author, The Swimmers. Image: Hue & Cry Press
“Lawrence Patchett has the qualities you’d hope for from an editor: patience, attentiveness, and an eye for detail. But he also brings an expertise in the art and craft of storytelling and a genuine interest in understanding what the writer is trying to achieve. It’s a luxury to have someone read your work so carefully!”
— John Summers, author of The Mermaid Boy and The Commercial Hotel. Image: Unity Books
QUALIFICATIONS
IPED Accredited Editor 2024 - Institute of Professional Editors
PhD Creative Writing 2012 - Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
Masters Creative Writing 2007 - Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
BA (Hons) English Literature 1998 - University of Canterbury
Te Aupikitanga ki te Reo Kairangi 2019 – Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
BACKGROUND
I’m a Pākehā person with ancestors from Shetland, Ireland, and the UK.
MEMBERSHIPS
Institute of Professional Editors (IPED)
New Zealand Society of Manuscript Assessors (NZAMA)
New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA)
Photo: Ebony Lamb