The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. — Mark Twain

My specialty is editing and proofreading the work of scholars and other writers whose first language isn’t English, although I have also worked with native speakers throughout my career. As you will see below, I have covered a wide variety of academic and professional disciplines.

Along the way, I’ve also edited policy reports, web content, novels, a biography and a screenplay.

In addition to editing, I have over 20 years of university teaching experience, both in the US (live and online) where I taught English and humanities and at Belgrade University where I taught writing at the Philology Faculty’s department of English.

I hold a BA in English from the University of Maryland, College Park and an MFA in English/writing from George Mason University.

I am a member of The Editorial Freelancers Association,  Mediterranean Editors and Translators (MET) and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP).

I can turn the Oxford comma on or off at your request. I’m experienced in both British and American English along with their academic protocols and professional style guides.

I’m currently available for editing and proofreading projects. Contact me at chrisprickett@gmail.com

Testimonials from recent projects include:

Language Textbooks in the Era of Neoliberalism. Pau Bori.

I have been working with Chris for several years now. She has proofread and edited many of my scholarly papers, chapters and books. I like her work because she is accurate, fast and highly responsible. She has always been very responsive to questions and suggestions. Her work is highly recommended for all academic scholars who want good quality at a reasonable price.

Nuts and Bolts (an ESL textbook for mechanical engineering students). Tijana Vesić Pavlović.

I’ve cooperated with Ms. Prickett on several occasions and I can highly recommend her. She is very thorough and provides invaluable help both when it comes to grammar and style. Her ability to meet deadlines and responsiveness to any queries the author may have are additional advantages of working with her.

Biodiversity and Ecosystems: Indigenous Knowledge, Protected Area Management and Governance. Violeta Orlovic Lovren.

Working with Chris Prickett on proofreading/editing projects in the last five years, I would describe her as a highly  professional and very efficient person. She is capable of meeting very tight deadlines and still not missing any detail or loosing the quality of her work. I like her passion and interest in the topic, not only in the grammar or mechanical improvements of the text. Whenever I approached her, I received a very fast and positive or helpful answer. It is a pleasure and a real learning experience to work with Chris.

Under the Veil. Jelena Pilipovic.

I have had several published academic papers reviewed by Chris Prickett, all of them written as scholarly contributions in the field of comparative literature and literary theory, mainly on the ancient Greek and Roman authors and topics. To my extreme satisfaction, she fully respected rather complex terminology and a pretty heavy style of mine. The result was, each time, a text in perfect English, completely faithful to my ideas. My papers are usually reviewed surprisingly quickly. I am especially thankful for that! 

Further examples of my projects include:

International Policy:

• United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Belgrade, Serbia. Proofread numerous development documents as a member of UNDP’s approved pool of proofreader/copy editors. UNICEF, UNWomen, and SEESAC are also previous clients. From 2008.
• Media Pluralism in the Balkans. Council of Europe. 2021.
• Urban Mega-Projects: A Case Study of the Belgrade Waterfront. S. Zekovic and T. Maricic. 2020.
• The Balkans’ Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). Report to UNDP. (500+ pages). 2019.
• Freedom of Religion and the Equality of Churches in Serbia. Tijana Surlan. 2019.
• Defamation as a Weapon in Europe and Serbia: Legal and Self-Regulatory Frameworks. Jelena S. Milojevic. 2018.
• Women on Corporate Boards. The World Bank. International Finance Group. 2013.
• Stolkholm-Belgrade: Sustainable Development and the Role of Humanistic Disciplines, Proceedings from the IV Swedish-Serbian Symposium.  Proofread all papers for publication.  Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. 2009.

Science, Technology, and Social/Urban Policy:

• The Solitary Bee: More than just Honey. The World Wildlife Fund. 2022.
• The Blueberry. (A textbook for cultivators). University of Belgrade. 2022.
• Sustainable Agricultural Land Use in Serbia. Tijana Crncevic. 2021.
• Air Quality in Serbia. UNDP. 2020.
• Protecting Natural and Cultural Heritage in the Context of Climate Change. Tijana Crncevic. 2019.
• The Ergo-dynamics of the working space of crane operators. Ahmed Essdai. University of Belgrade. 2019.
• Seasonal variations of naturally occurring radionuclides and ¹³⁷Cs in the leaves of deciduous tree species at sites of background radioactivity levels. Ivana Vukasinovic. 2018.
• Biodiversity and Ecosystems: Indigenous Knowledge, Protected Area Management and Governance. Violeta Orlovic Lovren. 2018.
• Urban Development Processes of Post-Socialist Cities. Marija Cvetinovic. Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL). 2017.
• An analysis of naturally occurring radionuclides and 137Cs
  in the soils of urban areas using gamma-ray spectrometry. Ivana Vukasinovic. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 2017.

Education and Educational Research:

• Sustainability in Higher Education Curricula. Violeta Orlovic Lovren. 2019.
• Language Textbooks in the Era of Neoliberalism. Pau Bori. Routledge. 2018.
• Nuts and Bolts (an ESL textbook for mechanical engineering students). Tijana Vesić Pavlović. University of Belgrade. 2018.
• All good readers are the same, but every low-skilled reader is different: An eye-tracking study of the PISA test. Ksjenija Krstic. 2018.
• Exploring Semantic Relations (a linguistics textbook). Katarina Rakulic. University of Belgrade. 2016.
• English Language and Literature Studies: Structures Across Cultures (ELLSAC). University of Belgrade. Collected conference papers of 2008, 2010 and 2014.
• Klett Publishers. Belgrade, Serbia. Proofread the ESL textbooks Chill Out I and II and sections of the PONS Serbian-English Dictionary. 2012.

Arts and the Humanities:

• The Concept of the Judge in the First Spanish Legal Dictionary (1726-1739). Marija Zarkovic. 2022.
• How Socrates Understood Emotions. Irina Deretic. 2021.
• Discursive Intersections and Film-making Constraints: To Have and Have Not. Sergej Makura. 2020.
• The Dynamics of Third-Wave Feminism. Dubravka Djuric. 2019.
• Trump-like Communication. Milica Jevtic. 2019.
• Aristotle and Friendship. Irina Deretic. 2018.
• Under the Veil, the mater dolorosa motif in a votive epigram by Serbian authoress Jefimija. Jelena Pilipovic. 2018.
• Marvel, Andrew. Sergej Macura. Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Editor: Marco Sgarbi. Springer, Chan. 2017.
• Why Tragedy is Good for the Soul. Irina Deretic. 2017.
• Ante Portam Aureum (Before the Golden Gate, a collection of archaeological scholarship covering the Roman empire in the Balkans). Editor: Miroslav Vujovic. University of Belgrade. 2017.
• I Sirmium: Its history from the 1st Century A.D. to 582 A.D.. Miroslava Mirkovic. University of Novi Sad. 2017.
• Wohnlich: 11^th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennial 2008. Faculty of Architecture. Belgrade. 2009. Proofread all papers for publication.

(Dates indicate when I contracted the work. Links, where available, show final publication dates.)

Fun Stuff:  Over the years, I have offered my English editing services to local artists for free or a nominal fee.  This has included Roma theater professionals, song writers and a filmmaker with a project headed for international film festivals. I’m so proud of all the work they do.

*Note: I do not review undergraduate work and will only undertake a PhD thesis if I am also in coordination with the PhD adviser.

Contact: chrisprickett@gmail.com