I'm an accomplished wordsmith and educator, with a 30+ year track record in journalism and editing. I'm the author of two non-fiction books for adults and four for children, winner of a healthy handful of journalism awards (see the Accolades page), and experience as a marketing copywriter and content creator. Still an aficionado of the Oxford comma and of double-spacing after a period, but I usually catch them on my proofreading pass!

This is only a partial portfolio, though I'm continuing to curate and add to it. I have over 5000 published pieces of work, some of which are print-only, so needless to say, the scanning's gonna take time. I think, however, that this is enough of a sampling to provide an overview of my skillset.

You will notice a preponderance of articles that, in one way or another, concern horses. It is a favourite topic for me, but don't let that persuade you that it's the only topic about which I'm capable of writing. Herein are profiles, medical breakthroughs, how-to and instructional articles, Q & A's, travel pieces, discussions of thorny issues, art and culture, event reports, some interior design advertorial, even a certain amount of honest-to-gawd fluff. You might also notice that some of the spelling and grammar in these articles favours AP (American) style, others CP (Canadian Press), and still others are in Brit- or Euro-speak. That's completely to do with the publication I was writing for and the style guide to which they asked me to adhere.

What can I do for you? I can make your internal or external communications clearer, more accessible, more entertaining and engaging, more persuasive, and more strategic. I can edit with a machete or a pair of tweezers. I bring a science background to the table, which makes me a stickler for accuracy and supportable claims, and I've worked with all manner of style guides so I can adapt to your needs and your audience.

Crafting AI prompts? Yup. Content management software? Absolutely (Wordpress and Shopify, but happy to learn others.) SEO? Yes, of course. Social media? Sure. Writing for accessibility? Also yes. White papers, press releases, ESG reports, ghostwriting, substantive editing, proofreading? Sign me up.

I'm based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and work exclusively remotely. Unless something is really nearby and really, really interesting and pays well.

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About Karen Briggs

Accolades

Risa Tanaka: Long, strange trip