Emma Warnken Johnson
I specialize in the humanities and social sciences, with a particular emphasis on areas in which I have academic training: anthropology, archaeology, history, museum studies, and classical studies. I also have extensive experience in the areas of sociology, education, health studies, film, and gender & sexuality studies.
I've worked on over 200 projects in the last 12 years, and have additional experience as an in-house production manager at an academic press. I received my editorial training at Toronto Metropolitan University, where I completed the publishing certificate.
Originally trained in the social sciences, I hold a BA in Anthropology and Classics (McGill University) and an MA in Archaeology (Institute of Archaeology, UCL). I have experience in fieldwork, archival work, and original research in those areas.
If you're interested in attending one of our meetings, please get in touch!
Services
Copy Editing
Editing manuscripts for consistency, correctness, and clarity, always keeping in mind the author’s voice and the audience’s needs.
Proofreading
Checking typeset proofs for errors in spelling, grammar, and references, and inconsistencies in layout and design.
Indexing
Crafting indexes for non-fiction titles, focusing on usability and accuracy. (Back-of-the-book indexes only; I don’t provide embedded indexing services at this time.)
Substantive & Developmental Editing
Working with authors and publishers to improve structure and style, and preparing manuscripts for publication.
Manuscript Review
Providing big-picture feedback on a manuscript’s argument and structure, with suggestions for revision, in a short report.
Project Management
Coordinating the publication process, working with authors and freelancers, and ensuring editorial and design work of the highest quality.
Selected Portfolio
Global Rhetorics of Science, edited by Lynda C. Olman (SUNY Press, 2023).
War on Record: The Archive and the Aftermath of the Civil War, by Yael A. Sternhell (Yale University Press, 2023).
A Research Agenda for the Gig Economy and Society, edited by Valerio De Stefano, Ilda Durri, Charalampos Stylogiannis, and Mathias Wouters (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022).
Communication and Writing for Paralegals, 2nd edition, Ashlyn O'Mara (Emond Publishing, 2023).
Self-Regulation and Inquiry-Based Learning in the Primary Classroom, by Brenda Jacobs (Canadian Scholars, 2022).
Digital Meets Handmade: Jewelry Design, Manufacture, and Art in the Twenty-First Century, curated by Wendy Yothers and Alba Cappellieri with Susanna Testa (SUNY Press, 2021).
Provincial Offences for Paralegals, 3rd Edition, by Jennifer Zubick (Emond Publishing, 2021).
The Archaeology of the Atlantic Northeast, by Matthew W. Betts and M. Gabriel Hrynick (University of Toronto Press, 2021).
Unholy Trinity: State, Church, and Film in Mexico, by Rebecca Janzen (SUNY Press, 2021).
Bioethics in Canada: A Philosophical Introduction, 3rd edition, by Carol Collier and Rachel Haliburton (Canadian Scholars, 2020).
Knowing It When You See It: Henry James/Cinema, by Patrick O'Donnell (SUNY Press, 2020).
Dancehall: A Reader on Jamaican Music and Culture, edited by Sonjah Stanley Niaah (University of the West Indies Press, 2020).
The Black Girlhood Studies Collection, edited by Aria Halliday (Canadian Scholars, 2019).
Goethe 20/20 (Goethe-Institut Toronto, 2019).
The Compassionate Educator: Understanding Social Issues and the Ethics of Care in Canadian Schools, edited by Allyson Jule (Canadian Scholars, 2020).
The Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis, 3rd edition, by Moira McCarney and Ruth Kuras (Emond Publishing, 2019).
Identity, Mediation, and the Cunning of Capital, by Ani Maitra (Northwestern University Press), for Ideas on Fire.
A Hard Place to Call Home: A Canadian Perspective on Residential Care and Treatment for Children and Youth, by Kiaras Gharabaghi (Canadian Scholars, 2019).
The Drug Paradox: An Introduction to the Sociology of Psychoactive Substances in Canada, by Tara L. Bruno and Rick Csiernik (Canadian Scholars, 2018).
Truth and Indignation: Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools, 2nd edition, by Ronald Niezen (University of Toronto Press, 2017).
Population Health in Canada: Issues, Research, and Action, edited by Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, Ronald Labonté, Corinne Packer, and Vivien Runnels (Canadian Scholars, 2017).
Public Policy and Canadian Nursing: Lessons from the Field, by Michael J. Villeneuve (Canadian Scholars, 2017).
Celebrating World Cultures, by the Museum of Anthropology (text for exhibit at BC Children's Hospital, 2017).
Foundational Training Program for Osh-ke-ba-Wis and Future Traditional Healers, Ceremonialists, and Traditional Teachers, by Lynn Lavallée (report for Anishnawbe Health Toronto, 2016).
Oversight: Critical Reflections on Feminist Research and Politics, by Viviane Namaste (Women’s Press, 2015).
Sivumut—Towards the Future Together: Inuit Women Educational Leaders in Nunavut and Nunavik, edited by Fiona Walton & Darlene O'Leary (Women’s Press, 2015).
One Kind Word: Women Share Their Abortion Stories, edited by Kathryn Palmateer & Martha Solomon (Three O’Clock Press, 2014).
Christian Missionaries, Ethnicity, and State Control in Globalized Yunnan, by Gideon Elazar (Penn State University Press, 2023).
Wills and Estates: Cases, Text, and Materials, 4th Edition, by Howard S. Black (Emond Publishing, 2023).
The Transforming Image: Painted Arts of Northwest Coast First Nations, by Bill McLennan and Karen Duffek (Figure 1 Publishing, 2022).
The Bible in Early Transatlantic Pietism and Evangelicalism, edited by Ryan P. Hoselton, Jan Stievermann, Douglas A. Sweeney, and Michael A. G. Haykin (Penn State University Press, 2022).
A Vivifying Spirit: Quaker Practice and Reform in Antebellum America, by Janet Moore Lindman (Penn State University Press, 2022).
The Work of Rape, by Rana Jaleel (Duke University Press, 2021), for Ideas on Fire.
Esperanza Speaks: Confronting a Century of Global Change in Rural Panama, by Gloria Rudolf (University of Toronto Press, 2021).
Introducing Archaeology, 3rd edition, by Robert J. Muckle and Stacey L. Camp (University of Toronto Press, 2020).
Contested Fields: A Global History of Modern Football, by Alan McDougall (University of Toronto Press, 2020).
Administrative Law: Principles and Advocacy, 4th edition, by Liz Nastasi and Deborah Pressman (Emond Publishing, 2019).
Show Us As We Are: Nation and Identity in Jamaican Film, by Rachel Moseley-Wood (University of the West Indies Press, 2019).
Through, Not Around: Stories of Infertility and Pregnancy Loss, by Allison McDonald Ace, Caroline Starr, and Ariel Ng Bourbonnais (Dundurn, 2018).
Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law: A Practitioner's Handbook, 2nd edition, by Cathryn Sawicki and Chantal DesLoges (Emond Publishing, 2018).
Contemporary Inequalities and Social Justice in Canada, edited by Janine Brodie (University of Toronto Press, 2018).
The Polar Adventures of a Rich American Dame: A Life of Louise Arner Boyd, by Joanna Kafarowski (Dundurn, 2017).
A Reformation Sourcebook: Documents from an Age of Debate, edited by Michael Bruening (University of Toronto Press, 2017).
Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting, by Carolyn Harris (Dundurn, 2017).
Living Up to a Legend: My Adventures with Billy Bishop’s Ghost, by Diana Bishop (Dundurn, 2017).
This Happened in My Presence: Moriscos, Old Christians, and the Spanish Inquisition in the Town of Deza, 1569–1611, edited and translated by Patrick J. O’Banion (University of Toronto Press, 2017).
A Different Kind of Ethnography: Imaginative Practices and Creative Methodologies, edited by Denielle Elliott & Dara Culhane (University of Toronto Press, 2017).
Canadian Perspectives on Advanced Practice Nursing, edited by Eric Staples, Susan L. Ray, & Rush A. Hannon (Canadian Scholars' Press, 2016).
Stories for Every Classroom: Canadian Fiction Portraying Characters with Disabilities, by Beverley Brenna (Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2015).
Becoming Girl: Collective Biography and the Production of Girlhood, edited by Marnina Gonick & Susanne Gannon (Women’s Press, 2014).
Critical Animal Studies: Thinking the Unthinkable, edited by John Sorenson (Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2014).
Education and the Politics of Difference: Select Canadian Perspectives, 2nd edition, by Ratna Ghosh & Ali A. Abdi (Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2013).
Between Banat: Queer Arab Critique and Transnational Arab Archives, by Mejdulene Bernard Shomali (Duke University Press, 2023), for Ideas on Fire.
Hip Hop Heresies: Queer Aesthetics in New York City, by Shanté Paradigm Smalls (NYU Press, 2023), for Ideas on Fire.
Before Borders: A Legal and Literary History of Naturalization, by Stephanie DeGooyer (John Hopkins University Press, 2022).
The Militant Intellectual: Critical Theory's Conceptual Personae, by Andrés Fabián Henao Castro (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), for Ideas on Fire.
Personal but Not Private: Queer Women, Sexuality, and Identity Modulation on Digital Platforms, by Stefanie Duguay (Oxford University Press, 2022).
Reproduction Reconceived: Family Making and the Limits of Choice After Roe v. Wade, by Sara Matthiesen (University of California Press, 2021), for Ideas on Fire.
Funding Bodies: Five Decades of Dance Making at the National Endowment for the Arts, by Sarah Wilbur (Wesleyan University Press, 2021), for Ideas on Fire.
Laboratory of Deficiency: Sterilization and Confinement in California, 1900–1950s, by Natalie Lira (University of California Press, 2021), for Ideas on Fire.
Disalienation: Politics, Philosophy, and Radical Psychiatry in Postwar France, by Camille Robcis (University of Chicago Press, 2021), for Ideas on Fire.
Learning to Inquire in Social Studies: An Anthology for Elementary Teachers, edited by Roland Case and Penney Clark (Critical Thinking Consortium, 2021).
An Imperative to Cure: Principles and Practice of Q’eqchi’ Maya Medicine in Belize, by James B. Waldram (University of New Mexico Press, 2020).
Contested Fields: A Global History of Modern Football, by Alan McDougall (University of Toronto Press, 2020).
The Essential Guide to Psychoactive Drugs in Canada: A Resource for Counselling Professionals, 2nd edition, by Rick Csiernik (Canadian Scholars, 2019).
The Black Girlhood Studies Collection, edited by Aria Halliday (Canadian Scholars, 2019).
Classical Sociological Theory, by Irving M. Zeitlin (Canadian Scholars, 2019).
Out of Context: The Uses of Modernist Fiction, by Michaela Bronstein (Oxford University Press, 2018), for Ideas on Fire.
Health Promotion in Canada: New Perspectives on Theory, Practice, and Research, 4th edition, edited by Irving Rootman, Ann Pederson, Katherine L. Frohlich, and Sophie Dupéreé (Canadian Scholars, 2017).
Immigration, Public Policy, and Health: Newcomer Experiences in Developed Nations, edited by Dennis Raphael (Canadian Scholars' Press, 2017).
About Canada: Health and Illness, 2nd edition, by Dennis Raphael (Fernwood Publishing, 2016).
Nobody Here Will Harm You: Mass Medical Evacuation from the Eastern Arctic 1950–1965, by Shawn Selway (Wolsak and Wynn, 2016).
Canadian Perspectives on Advanced Practice Nursing, edited by Eric Staples, Susan L. Ray, & Rush A. Hannon (Canadian Scholars' Press, 2016).
Petticoats & Prejudice: Women and Law in Nineteenth-Century Canada (Women's Press Classics), by Constance Backhouse (Women’s Press, 2015).
The Cinema and Its Shadow: Race and Technology in Early Cinema, by Alice Maurice (University of Minnesota Press, 2013).
Burnt Cork: Traditions and Legacies of Blackface Minstrelsy, edited by Stephen Johnson (University of Massachusetts Press, 2012).
Book, dance
Book, digital technology
Book, sociology of economy and place
Book, medical sociology & gender studies
Book introduction, performance studies
Book, Asian American history
Book, media studies
Book, gender & sexuality studies
Journal article, disability studies
Journal article, media studies
Book (edited collection), health studies & social work
Book (dissertation), American history & cultural studies
Book chapter, performance studies & Middle Eastern studies
Book, art history & Latinx studies
Journal article, media studies
Book, communication studies & technology
Book, gender studies & Latinx studies
Book, media studies & technology
McMaster Health Forum 2023–
• copy editing various reports about health- and social-system issues
Ideas on Fire 2017–
• developmental editing, copy editing, and indexing for interdisciplinary, progressive academics
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2016–
• annual 3-month contract managing publications for industry events and conferences taking place during the festival
• fact checking, proofreading, and copy editing of film notes, event schedules, and other materials
Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University 2016–18
• editorial support, including structural editing, copy editing, and formatting articles to fit journal requirements
The Linden School 2015–19
• as a volunteer, copy editing and proofreading communications for an independent school in Toronto
Resumé
Toronto Metropolitan University 2010–15
Publishing Certificate
• training in substantive editing, proofreading, copy editing, indexing, production, and book design
University College London 2008–09
Master of Arts in Archaeology
• dissertation entitled “Collector and Collection: Archaeological Knowledge and the Gayer-Anderson Collection at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL”
• copy editor and proofreader, Papers from the Institute of Archaeology
• assistant, Institute of Archaeology Collections
• excavator, Noviodunum project, Romania
McGill University 2004–08
Honours Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Classics
• Vice-President of Publications, Anthropology Students’ Association, 2006–08
• archaeological field training through Southern Methodist University, Italy, 2007
Style Guides
• Chicago (17th edition)
• APA (7th edition)
• MLA
• McGill Guide
• Canadian Press
• Numbered citations
Other Editorial Skills
• Classical citations
• Musical notation
Software Skills
• Mac OS and Microsoft Windows
• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
• Adobe Acrobat Professional
• Cindex indexing software
• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign)
• FileMaker Pro (title management, archival cataloguing)
• basic HTML and ePub comprehension
• WordPress
• ability to learn new software quickly
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2016–
Publications Coordinator
• annual 3-month contract managing publications for industry events and conferences taking place during the festival
• fact checking, proofreading, and copy editing film notes, event schedules, and other materials
Canadian Scholars’ Press/Women’s Press 2014–16
Acting Production Manager
• managed approx. 15 new titles at a time, including scheduling, budgeting, hiring freelancers, working with authors, and maintaining quality control
• proofread, copy edited, and indexed manuscripts
• managed title management software development
• managed the work of a production assistant
Canadian Scholars’ Press/Women’s Press 2012–14
Production Assistant
• managed 2–3 new titles a year
• coordinated production of all reprints
• coordinated permissions projects for new titles
• proofread, copy edited, and indexed manuscripts
• coordinated eBook conversion and checked files
Random House Canada 2012
Production Intern
Oxford University Press Canada 2011
Editorial Intern
Literary Review of Canada 2010
Editorial Intern
Ancient Egypt Research Associates 2011
Assistant Archivist
• collected, organized, and maintained documentation produced during 22 years of archaeological excavations in offices located in Cairo and Luxor, Egypt
• coordinated projects with employees on 3 continents
• developed and implemented a catalogue system for the Cairo-based 800-title library
St. Michael’s Hospital 2009–10
Research Assistant
• assisted in the development of a new pain assessment tool
• recruited patients and nurses for the study, obtained informed consent, and archived and organized data
University of Toronto 2006–08
Research Assistant
• searched for, collected, and organized primary documents for a government-funded research project on the history of Victorian popular culture
• collected information and added it to an online database for a research project on theatre history in southern Ontario
Indexing Society of Canada 2023–
Central Regional Co-Rep
• coordinating monthly regional meetings
• maintaining regional membership list
• attending regular board meetings
Academic Editing Chapter 2024–
Advocacy Committee Member
• an EFA and Editors Canada joint project
• working on various projects that will further the impact and understanding of academic editing
The Linden School 2012–19
Member of the Board of Trustees
• Secretary of the Board
• member, Governance Committee
• attending regular meetings with various stakeholders
• editing communications, with a focus on alumnae
Heritage Toronto 2016
Historical Research Assistant
• conducted research for the Plaques and Markers Program
Conferences
• Editors Canada 2019: Celebrating 40 Years
including workshop "Eight-Step Editing: Finding and Fixing Common Readability Problems"
• National Museum Publishing Seminar 2020: Museum Publishing Now
• National Museum Publishing Seminar 2021: Museum Publishing Now
• Indexing Society of Canada 2021: Indexing Unlimited
• Indexing Society of Canada 2022: Past Perfect, Future Progressive
• Editors Canada 2022: Editing for a Changing World
• Indexing Society of Canada 2023: See also Newfoundland
• Editors Canada 2023: In Real Life
• Indexing Society of Canada 2024: The Art of Connection
Webinars
• A Linguist's Guide to Grammar (Editors Canada)
• Editing Distressing Content (Editors Canada)
• Editing for the Web (Editors Canada)
• Indexing Gwich’in Oral History (ISC)
• Using Autocorrects and Text Expanders (Editors Canada)
• Indexing Arabic Names (ISC)
• Indexing Art Books (ASI)
Testimonials
Emma is a whiz with manuscript structure and organization. I’m continually impressed with her ability to see how the different pieces of a book fit together (or don’t) and how to rearrange them to reveal the author’s main argument and its significance. Whether editing scholarly books aimed at fellow academics or crossover books aimed at a broader public audience, Emma’s keen eye has helped many of our authors.
Emma was absolutely remarkable in editing my book, making final recommendations for changes and compiling the final text to submit to the publisher. Her highly responsive professional service was just what I needed. She is simply wonderful!
What a pleasure it was to work with Emma. Her immaculate attention to detail and brilliant copy editing of complex content helped to make my book so much stronger. I would choose to work with Emma again in a heartbeat.
Emma was responsible for production of my 3rd edition of Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives. This was a large and complex task of over 600 printed pages involving no less than 28 authors contributing 24 chapters. She was careful, thorough, and always knew exactly what she was doing. You can be confident that whatever work she does for you will be of the highest standard.
Working with Emma was fantastic. She indexed my book, and her knowledge, skill, attention to detail, and editorial instincts made the process seamless. I had total trust in her work, and I would definitely work with her again!
I can wholeheartedly recommend Emma’s services. She is a highly-skilled proofreader and editor. From my experience, she has been able to manage her projects in a consistently reliable and professional manner.
Emma has been compiling and editing the annual report for the World Congress of Science & Factual Producers for many years. It’s a complex task, involving a variety of sources of information, tracking historical data, and providing analysis and context. Emma handles it all brilliantly. She’s incredibly efficient and detailed in her work, as well as reliable and a pleasure to work with. I look forward to working with her again.
Pricing
experience and education, and are negotiable as needed.
Please get in touch and tell me about your project!
