Recent Freelance Work

Here's what I've been doing lately.

• Creating the collaborative nonfiction book Kissability: People with Disabilities Talk About Sex, Love, and Relationships (Levellers Press, 2014)

• Proofreading medical-device documentation in numerous foreign languages for Crimson Life Sciences (February 2013-present)

• Posting as an invited guest on S.B. Stewart-Laing's blog Writing the Other: see "Writing Disability, Part I" and "Part II" (March 2013)

• Copyediting scholarly articles for Philosophers' Imprint online philosophy journal (September 2012-present)

• Copyediting and proofreading The Common literary magazine (July 2012-present)

• Copyediting exhibition catalogs, display labels, and press releases for the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College  (2011-2013)

• Copyediting the second edition of Die Free: A True Story of Murder, Betrayal and Miscarried Justice, by Peter Rooney (Amazon Kindle e-book, Summer 2012)

• Proofreading Cheap Meat: Flap Food Nations in the Pacific Islands, by Deborah Gewertz and Frederick Errington (University of California Press, 2009) 

• Proofreading Boys at Play, by N.D. Austin, Joshua H. Cohen, Artie Moffa, and Wing L. Mui (Bicycle Comics Productions, 2009)

Selected Writings

Here are links to a few of examples of my writing, for your perusal and, I hope, enjoyment.

• "Our Fellows Deserve to Be Heard" (Amherst magazine feature, Fall 2009)
  For more than 60 years, Martin Vogel searched for information about his brother's death in a Nazi P.O.W. camp. Finally, in 2008, an online news article led him to an elderly veteran who had witnessed and recorded it all... 

• "The Beauty of Coding" (Amherst magazine profile, Spring 2014)
  Smartphone apps of her own design, plus a wave of media attention, have turned a runway model into a role model.

• "Quietly Odd" (Amherst magazine profile, Winter 2014)
  Aparna Nancherla reassured the audience on Conan, "It's OK—I'm surprised I’m a comedian, too." 

• "Learning Not to Highlight, and Other Orientation Highlights" (Amherst College Campus Buzz, Fall 2010)
  Hello, my name is Katherine, and I am a recovering habitual highlighter... This orientation panel on "Aggressive Reading" decries the overuse of highlighter markers and teaches new students more useful strategies for absorbing and analyzing academic texts.
  
  
• "The Blame Game" (Amherst College Campus Buzz, Winter 2009)
  Students in the Amherst College Interterm course "Figuring Out Who to Blame" learn the psychology behind finger-pointing.
  

• "Mystery Date" (Amherst College Campus Buzz, Fall 2007)
  At this year's murder mystery night, Amherst College's improv troupe combines the fun of homicide with the horrors of searching for true love.
  

• "Wednesday Night Shakespeare" (Amherst College Campus Buzz, Spring 2007)
  A meeting of a certain student group inspires some iambic pentameter.
  

• "Manners: Do You Mind?" (Amherst College Campus Buzz, Winter 2007)
  At a special dinner, students navigate a veritable obstacle course of etiquette.
  

Experience, Education, and Honors

Experience

Writer / Editor at Amherst College Office of Communications, Amherst, Massachusetts (2006-present)

I continue to take on ever-greater challenges and responsibilities as a writer, editor, and administrator. I work with the rest of the Communications staff-- and with other college departments --to identify, produce, and publicize the latest news about the college and to communicate its values and successes to current and prospective members of its community around the world. My duties include:

• Writing feature-length and shorter articles for Amherst, the quarterly magazine of Amherst College
  
  
• Attending and writing about campus events for the college's website
  
  
• Interviewing faculty members and others to create profiles for the magazine and website
  
  
• Copyediting the magazine, intranet pages, news releases, event listings, posters, brochures, and other documents to conform to the college's house style (which is generally in accordance with Associated Press Style)

• Using Twitter and Facebook to draw attention to the latest buzzworthy news stories about the college
  
  
• Facilitating and documenting the sale of books about Amherst College

Education

Lancaster University, Lancaster, England (2005-2006)

• M.A. in Creative Writing
  
  
  • Gave and received feedback on writing in regular workshops with classmates, online and in person
    
    
  • Wrote and revised 30,000 words of a novella, as well as a 3,000-word essay of reflection upon the writing process
    

Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts (2001-2005)

• B.A. in English, with concentration on creative prose writing
  
  
  • Degree awarded with Distinction (G.P.A. in top 25 percent of class)
    
    
  • Courses in beginning and advanced fiction writing, "Writing for the Theater," "Writers and the Writing Life," Romantic poetry, Shakespeare, historical fiction, and more
    
    
  • Summer 2004 internship in Amherst College Office of Public Affairs, as editor of new editions of Student Handbook and First-Year Facebook
    
    
  • Fiction editor and then Editor-in-Chief of The Amherst Review literary magazine
    
    
  • Contributor of personal essays and humor writing to student publications Prism and The Meredith
    
    
  • Copyeditor for Circus magazine
    

Honors

• Pushcart Prize nomination for "Jellybeans," a dramatic monologue published in Mindprints literary journal (2002)
  
  
• One-act comedy "A Date with Destiny" produced for Summer Playwrights Festival at Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in Nyack, New York (2001)
  
  
• Grand Prize at New York State Theater Education Association Monologue Writing Contest for "Jellybeans" (2001)

Rates, Formats, and Style Guides

I typically charge $25 per hour, but I can instead charge by the page, by the word, or a flat rate for an entire project-- whichever works best for you  --and all rates are negotiable.

I can work with you through e-mail, with documents in Microsoft Word (or a compatible program) or Adobe Acrobat; through Google Docs; or on print documents mailed to and from my home address.

I have experience with both the Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style. You may specify which, if any, style guide you would like me to use.

Contact Me

You can reach me with questions, comments, or job offers at KatherineDukeWriting@gmail.com.

You can also connect with me and find more extensive information about my education and career on LinkedIn.