Ellie Barton, Canadian editor of scholarly books and creative nonfiction
  • About
  • Services
    • Manuscript Assessment
    • Substantive & Line Editing
    • Copy Editing
  • Online Courses
    • WRIT 265: Editing in Academic and Professional Contexts
    • WRIT 290: Writing Literary Nonfiction
  • Portfolio
  • Blog
  • Contact
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I’ve had the privilege of working on creative nonfiction and scholarly books at all stages of editing – structural, stylistic, and copy editing, as well as proofreading. Thank you to the authors for trusting me with their creation.

mEMOIR

  • Berry, Marion Ann. Behind the Kitchen Doors – The Summers. Self-published, 2018. I wrote an editorial letter to guide Marion Ann in making substantial revisions to her book. 
  • Gibson, Malcolm. Myopia: Growing Up White in Apartheid South Africa. Kingston: Woodpecker Lane, 2015. In my editorial letter, I suggested a number of structural changes. Malcolm made the revisions (somewhat grudgingly) and then asked me to do a line edit. I continued to work with Malcolm on two more memoirs: Unremarkable Odyssey:  From Cape Town to Kingston (2018) and Accidental Bureaucrat (2019).
  • Gourdier, Catherine. Breathe, Cry, Breathe. Line edit, 2018.  Acquired by HarperCollins. Release date spring 2021 ​
  • Miller, Gordon. Lost Boy from a Line of Heroes. Kingston: Woodpecker Lane, 2020. I completed a structural edit  in 2018. Gordon was unable to carry out all the suggested changes and asked me to do the revisions. Maureen Garvie, publisher of Woodpecker Lane, gave the book a final edit. ​
  • O'Rourke, Nancy. Rwanda: The Other Side of Illusion. Nancy is revising the manuscript in response to my editorial letter of September 2020.
  • Schmalz, Otto. As the Bombs Fell: My Childhood during the Time the Nazis Ruled. Victoria: FriesenPress, 2018. I did a partial line edit for Otto on his first book, and I have since completed heavy line edits on two more: Out of the Ruins: Growing Up in Post-War Germany (Friesen, 2019) and Time for Taking Chances: Leaving Germany as a Teenager after the War (Friesen, 2020).   

Writing a memoir is an emotional journey that is both personal and daunting. I was fortunate to work with Ellie on mine.
            I was dealing with someone who not only did a wonderful job on the structural and stylistic editing, but also understood my feelings and thoughts. She sensed what I wanted to convey.
            Her insights and new perspectives shifted the story beyond what I was doing on my own, helped me find my voice and made me a better writer.
 ​
--Gordon Miller, Lost Boy from a Line of Heroes

cREATIVE NONFICTION

  • Buttke, Robert. ​​The Martin Buttke Family: From Prussia to the Prairies. Twin Brooks Publishing, forthcoming
  • Cox, Candace E. Living Daily: Alexander Technique for Parkinson's Disease.  Published 2019. Candace is featured in a Body Wisdom podcast with host Tami Bulmash.
  • McNaught, Alexander D. A Place Called Wallbridge. Epic Press, 2016. Alex has become a local authority on the history of Wallbridge, a village in Hastings County that no longer exists  but that once was a lively civic centre with tradespeople , a cheese factory, a school, church and more. I rewrote the manuscript to help Alex preserve this fascinating heritage.
  • Mundle, Robert. How to Be an Even Better Listener: A Practical Guide for Hospice and Palliative Care Volunteers. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019. The book has become the centrepiece for Robert Mundle Productions, which offers educational workshops, talks, and podcasts on spiritual health for professionals and volunteers.  I was delighted to be interviewed for his podcast on "how editors help authors." 
  • Strouhal, Frantisek, Chantal Robert, and Jakub Strouhal. Illuminations: Art Embracing Awareness. Mirage Studios, 2019. The prose poems and reflections in this luminous book invite readers to slow down, breathe, and see.​ Visit Frantisek Strouhal Fine Art for book reviews and luminous photography.
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As a novice writer working on my first major work, I can’t thank you enough for guiding me through the editing process to ensure that my manuscript was a good as it could be. You were amazing to work with. Your skills in all the aspects of editing brought For a Better Life to a level that would never have been possible without you. 
--John Van Immerseel

"Choosing an editor who will be the right fit for you and your book can be a daunting task. I felt that Ellie really understood the goal of my book and most importantly the tone I was hoping to achieve.”

- Dorothy WRight, Side Effects
A Nurse's journey through secondary traumatic stress

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When we began to write this book, we knew this venture was going to be unlike anything we’ve done before. But we never imagined how far we’d journey beyond our comfort zone. Art Embracing Awareness wouldn’t have been possible without assistance, and so we want to extend our deepest thanks to Ellie Barton, our editor, for her ongoing support and insightful feedback in transforming our prose/poems into this book. You are a gift to  us.
—Frantisek Strouhal and Chantal Robert

Selected scholarly books

hISTORY AND RELIGION

  • ​​Ahrari, Ehsan M. The Islamic Challenge and the United States. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2016.
  • Axworthy, Thomas S., ed. Bridging the Divide: Religious Dialogue and Universal Ethics. Foreword by Helmut Schmidt. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2008
  • ​Bramadat, Paul, and Matthias Koenig, eds. International Migration and the Governance of Religious Diversity. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2009
  • ​Clarke, Brian, and Stuart Macdonald, eds. Leaving Christianity: Changing Allegiances in Canada, 1945-2011. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017
  • Dewar, Kenneth C. Frank Underhill and the Politics of Ideas. Foreword by Bob Rae. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015
  • Ehrhart, Hans-Georg, and Charles C. Pentland. The Afghanistan Challenge: Hard Realities and Strategic Choices. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2009
  • ​​Ludlow, Peter. The Canny Scot: Archbishop James Morrison of Antigonish. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015

arts

  • Jarraway, David R. Wallace Stevens among Others. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015
  • Leroux, Louis Patrick, and Charles R. Batson, eds. Cirque Global: Quebec’s Expanding Circus Boundaries. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2016
  • Murray, Jennifer. Reading Alice Munro with Jacques Lacan. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2016

HEALTH CARE

  • Carson, A. Scott, Jeffrey Dixon, and Kim Richard Nossal, eds. Toward a Healthcare Strategy for Canadians. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015
  • Lazar, Harvey, John N. Lavis, Pierre-Gerlier Forest, and John Church, eds. Paradigm Freeze: Why Is It So Hard to Reform Health-Care Policy in Canada? Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013
  • McCreary, Bruce D., and Jessica Jones. Intellectual Disabilities and Dual Diagnosis: An Interprofessional Clinical Guide for Healthcare Providers.  Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013

IMMIGRATION POLICY

  • ​Andrews, Caroline, John Biles, Meyer Burstein, Victoria M. Esses, and Erin Tolley, eds. Immigration, Integration, and Inclusion in Ontario Cities. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2012
  • ​Biles, John, Meyer Burstein, and James Frideres, eds. Immigration and Integration in Canada in the Twenty-first Century. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2008
  • ​Nieuwenhuysen, John, Howard Duncan, and Stine Neerup, eds. International Migration in Uncertain Times. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2012

PUBLIC POLICY

  • Banting, Keith G., Richard P. Chaykowski, and Steven F. Lehrer, eds. Thinking Outside the Box: Innovation in Policy Ideas. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015
  • Chaykowski, Richard P., and Robert S. Hickey, eds. Building More Effective Labour-Management Relationships. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013
  • ​Purchase, Bryne. Navigating the Titanic: Economic Growth, Energy, and the Failure of Governance. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013
  • Shanahan, Theresa, Michelle Nilson, and Li Jeen Broshko, eds. Handbook of Higher Education Law. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015
  • Slinn, Sara, and Arthur Sweetman, eds. Dynamic Negotiations: Teacher Labour Relations in Canadian Elementary and Secondary Education. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2012

​JOURNALS & Reports

I edited dozens of articles as a copy editor and proofreader for Canadian Public Policy and the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health from 2005 to 2015. In 2017 and 2017 I edited a number of reports for the Environmental Sciences Group at the Royal Military College of Canada. As a result of the style guide I developed, the Environmental Sciences Group no longer needs an editor! 
We very much enjoyed working with Ellie on the editing process of Cirque Global. She was a careful, insightful, and respectful reader, always open to discussion but also extremely well-versed in academic writing. Unfailingly professional and a pleasure to exchange emails and ideas with, we warmly recommend Ellie for copy editing and stylistic editing.       
– Louis Patrick Leroux and Charles R. Batson, eds., Cirque Global: Quebec's Expanding Circus Boundaries 

Author

Driven by a Dream: The Story of Ongwanada, by Ellie Barton
Barton, Ellen. Driven by a Dream: The Story of Ongwanada 1948–1998. 196 pp. Kingston: Quarry Press, 1998
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Barton, Ellen. Purpose & Passion: Kingston General Hospital Auxiliary 1905–2005. 276 pp. Kingston: KGH Auxiliary, 2005

Ellie Barton, Book Editor

About
Portfolio

Services

Manuscript Critique
Structural Editing
Stylistic Editing
Copy Editing

 Blog & Online Courses​

Nose in a Book Blog for Writers & Editors
WRIT 265: Editing in Academic and Professional Contexts, Queen's University
WRIT 290: Writing Literary Nonfiction, Queen's University
​
Contact Ellie
© COPYRIGHT 2019. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • About
  • Services
    • Manuscript Assessment
    • Substantive & Line Editing
    • Copy Editing
  • Online Courses
    • WRIT 265: Editing in Academic and Professional Contexts
    • WRIT 290: Writing Literary Nonfiction
  • Portfolio
  • Blog
  • Contact