Hire the Best Historians
in Canada

With a Master’s degree in History, I bring a unique voice to every project. As a experienced writer and editor, I’m passionate about making complex topics engaging and accessible for all ages. My expertise spans academic research, podcast scripting, creative storytelling, and lesson planning, enabling me to craft content that’s both informative and captivating. What I Offer: Editing & Proofreading: Whether refining academic articles, educational materials, or creative manuscripts, I ensure clarity, consistency, and polish in every word. Content Creation: From developing engaging podcast episodes to writing historical fiction, I’m adept at tailoring content for specific audiences, including children and young adults. Educational Writing: With a background in history teaching, I create curriculum and educational content that brings historical topics to life.

I have been teaching basic writing skills to undergraduates who are both native and non-native speakers of English since 2001, when I first took a part-time job at Champlain Regional College's Writing Centre. I defended my PhD in history at Johns Hopkins, where I edited (and graded) hundreds of student papers and dozens of my colleagues' articles and chapters for submission. I also worked at the Milton S. Eisenhower library information desk and helped students and the general public navigate the research resources. I am familiar with Chicago, MLA, and APA citation styles, and I understand the importance of proper source attribution in non-fiction. My own writing style is crisp and simple. I believe in short sentences that get right to the point. I read English, French, Italian and Latin and have a firm grasp of sentence syntax and argumentative structure. As a writer, I specialize in forms of biographical writing (which was the focus of my dissertation): job cover letters, statements of purpose for post-secondary programs, recommendation letters and character references. A main component of successful biographical writing is a personal touch, and I am available to discuss a client's background and skills over Zoom before embarking on a new project. I love copy-editing research because learning something new is such a joy. I take on beta-reading projects for historical fiction and fantasy at EXTREMELY reduced hourly rates for that very same reason -- because they are fun! I also revise training manuals, telemarketing scripts, and business documents. My portfolio contains some examples of my work, but since I cannot often share what I deliver to clients, I also offer potential clients a small sample (250 words) edit of their text. I charge sliding rates based on the level of service, i.e., proofreading costs less than line editing.

I have over 15 years of experience writing, editing and proofreading text, with particular emphasis on historical and/or academic subjects. I also have experience with non-academic texts, magazine copy, and text for audio tours. In the past, I was a regular contributor to The Vintage News, and submitted over 25 photography blog entries to Localgrapher.com and have been working steadily with a European audio tour company to develop scripts for a number of attractions and historic sites. In addition to being a native English speaker, I speak and read French well, enabling me to take a French text and craft a parallel copy in English. I am also a Project Manager, having completed dozens of projects of various size over the course of about 20 years. I'm a stickler for deadlines. I always ensure a high standard of product, giving you the best possible outcome for your project.

Senior Software Developer and Industrial ML Specialist with over 20 years of experience. In my previous role I built mission critical software, including the control systems (SCADA) used to run pipelines, LRT systems, and power plants. Since then I co-founded a startup to build the ML to augment those systems, optimizing industrial systems to reduce power cost and increase throughput, and building failure prediction and detection systems to avoid costly downtime and repairs. My industrial background gives me the experience needed to take software past "production ready" to the five-nine reliability needed when a single glitch can take down a multi-billion dollar production system, or prevent life-saving infrastructure from running in an emergency. As an ML engineer I went back to those same systems with an eye towards the hidden opportunities buried in the raw data. This involved dealing with the complexities of messy real world data such as: missing or malfunctioning instruments, unknown time offsets, unlabelled data, missing logs, and clients with a very different view of the systems. I handled the full lifecycle: data validation and cleaning, feature engineering, model development, application design, and cloud deployment. As a developer I specialize in C/C++, Python, and JavaScript, and am a skilled full-stack developer with strong Linux/Unix system administration skills. My ML specializes in time series, regression, and categorization, but I have built solutions in many other areas including Computer Vision, Reinforcement Learning, and Large Language Models. Having co-founded and led a startup I have a strong eye for evaluating business proposals and focusing on what's needed for a successful MVP. For instance, I know when a particular piece of functionally is critical to the value proposition, and thus needs to be absolutely flawless. And I know which bits of functionality just need to be done as quickly and cheaply as possible so the prototype can get out the door.

Hi, I’m Christy - a Master’s graduate in Ancient History, Art, and Archaeology, with a strong foundation in research and editorial work. I specialize in helping clients turn ideas into clear, polished, and engaging works. Whether you need detailed proofreading, in-depth research, or thoughtful feedback, I will bring a careful eye and a genuine investment in the quality of your work. My experience spans both academic and creative projects, and I’m comfortable adapting my approach to suit different voices, audiences, and goals. Here are the main areas I can help with: - Proofreading and editing (from light copy edits to detailed line or developmental editing) - Providing constructive feedback on structure, clarity, flow and coherence - Research and fact-checking across a range of topics (with particular strength in history and humanities subjects) - Academic or creative writing Some of the work I’ve done includes: - Proofreading and beta-reading fiction and non-fiction books - Copy and line editing projects ranging from cookbooks to novels - Archival and historical research for autobiographical and creative works - Fact-checking and research for a children's history podcast - Editing academic articles for publication - Editing and providing detailed feedback on university-level essays As you can see, although I am most passionate about historical research, I have also developed an equal passion for a variety of editorial-type works. While I began freelancing to build experience, it quickly became something I take a lot of pride in. I’m someone who cares about getting the details right, but also about making sure your work feels cohesive, intentional, and most of all, true to its original voice and purpose. If you’re looking for someone reliable, thorough, thoughtful, and easy to work with, I’d truly love to hear more about your project!

I am a seasoned, bilingual writer who retired from communications management and C-suite support in the Government of Canada. Much of that time was spent supporting Ministers and elected representatives rolling out programs nationally within departments. Writing portfolio samples from these roles (below under PR / GOVERNMENT / LEGAL) include legal journals, policy position papers, academic, government procurement, RPFs, RFIs, etc. Since completing my pensionable service, I've found renewed joy and had fun doing paid public writing across a diversity of roles. Honing the art of colourful SEO-targeted pieces and crafting for joy: entertainment/educative pieces, topical blogs, designing escape rooms, virtual museums through narrative, and beyond. Portfolio samples of this ilk can be found below under SOCIAL / LEISURE. Many are from my history niches with attribuable links for learning purposes. My professional, public reviews and references (including ~750 social) speak to the personal passion I bring to every project. The reviews also speak to my consistent efforts across diverse topics and programs. While my depth of experience and demonstrable professionalism might concern the budget-conscious, rest assured that I am more keenly motivated by writing for purpose versus profits. Let's talk about the art of the feasible, project specifics, and when needed the counting of beans. My career has thrived on finding creative solutions to difficult problems, starting with little to no budget. Anything is possible with enough effort, the right team, and motivation. I want to contribute to those successes, so please feel free to reach out, even if you are in the preliminary planning stages and dreaming big! Thank you for engaging me in your endeavours. Robert J. Kernoghan