Editor/Writer
Melissa Larner
Editor/Writer
With nearly 30 years' experience as an editor specialising in the arts and culture, I provide services in project-editing, copy-editing and proofreading of books, magazines, catalogues, exhibition materials, academic articles and dissertations, as well as copy-writing and blurb-writing. My editing/writing skills and knowledge of modern and contemporary culture enable me to make any text elegant, error-free, factually accurate and ready for publishing.
About
Melissa Larner
I began my editorial career in the role of sub-editor of Frieze magazine in the mid-1990s, while also employed as Head of Press at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Since then I've worked on a freelance basis for hundreds of publishers, journals and arts and cultural organisations, both nationally and internationally, including:
Acoustiguide
Architectural Design
Art on the Underground
Art London
Art Newspaper
Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo
Barbican Art Gallery
Berlin Biennale
Brussels Biennial
The Burlington Magazine
Castello di Rivoli, Turin
Conran Octopus
Deste Foundation, Athens
documenta
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow
Faber & Faber
Ferens Gallery
Fotogaleriet, Oslo
Galerie Thaddeus Ropac
Goldsmiths University of London
Gwangu Biennale
Hauser & Wirth
Hayward Gallery
Henry Moore Foundation
ICA, London
Ikon Gallery
Iniva
Istanbul Biennial
John Wiley Publishing
JOVIS
LIGHT ART SPACE
Lisson Art Gallery
Live Art Development Agency
Liverpool Biennale
MMCA, Seoul
National Gallery, London
National Portrait Gallery
Objectiv, Oslo
Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels
Office for Contemporary Art, Oslo
Phaidon Press
Prince Claus Trust
Reina Sofia, Madrid
Reykjavik Art Museum
Responsible Trust for Models
Ridinghouse
Serpentine Gallery
Sharjah Biennial
The Shed, New York
Sothebys Institute
Steirischerherbst
Sternberg Press
Studio Eliasson, Berlin
Studio Kapoor
Tate Publishing
Taipei Biennial
Taschen
Thames & Hudson
Thomas Dane
V-A-C
Wellcome Trust
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Whitechapel Art Gallery
Yale University Press
TESTIMONIALS
'For many years, the curatorial team at the Serpentine Galleries and I have relied on Melissa's sensitive, precise and knowledgable approach to editing texts relating to the visual arts. Melissa is one of the best text editors in Europe.'
Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries
'Melissa is the perfect editor –she understands the brief immediately, is able to tease out the essence of what writers want to say while maintaining their voice, and she's incredibly fast. It doesn't get any better than this.'
Dame Julia Peyton-Jones, DBE
Senior Global Director: Special Projects, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London, and
Visiting Professor, School of Arts and Humanities, Royal College of Art, London
'I've worked with Melissa for many years and have come to depend on her clear brain. She has a stunning capacity to see order in written chaos, together with an admirable style on paper that enables her both to improve and respect the prose of an author.'
Michele Robecchi
Commissioning Editor,
Contemporary Art
Phaidon Press
'Melissa is an outstanding editor. Her text editing is accurate, swift and sensitive to the writing style and thought processes of authors. Art isn't an easy subject to articulate with precision, which is why so many people rely on her thoroughness and encouragement.'
Emma Ridgway, Head of Programme and Chief Curator, Modern Art Oxford
'Melissa is a terrific editor – an imaginative commissioner and a deft and thorough copy editor. I highly recommend her.'
James Peto, Head of Programme, Wellcome Collection
‘Having worked with Melissa for over a decade on art books large and small, I’ve always found her to be a highly skilled and experienced copy-editor. She’s someone I would particularly turn to for those unwieldy raw manuscripts that need substantial work, but I also respect her ability to do the lightest of jobs where this might be required. She always meets deadlines and communicates promptly and effectively. I would recommend her unreservedly.’
Rebecca Morrill
Commissioning Editor (Art)
Phaidon Press
‘I’ve worked with Melissa over many years, when I was at the Serpentine Gallery and more recently at Liverpool Biennial. She’s a thoughtful and precise editor and can clarify and edit a wide range of material from complex academic texts to interviews and interpretation. She makes writing accessible to a range of audiences and works very efficiently to meet deadlines. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.’
Sally Tallant
Director
Liverpool Biennial
'Melissa is a brilliant and efficient editor and writer who has a deep understanding and knowledge of international contemporary art.'
Gunnar B Kvaran, Director, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo
'I really appreciate Melissa's work – it's like a blurry photograph suddenly becoming sharp and clear, or when somebody who's under water surfaces and you can see them for real.’
