Academic Owl Editing is run by me, Laura Machat-From (PhD). I offer personalised services surrounding scholarly writing and publication to researchers in the social sciences and related fields. Since the start of 2019, I’ve been helping to polish and prepare manuscripts and funding applications by e.g. copyediting, translating, editing to confirm to author instructions, proofreading or offering editorial advice. No two projects are the same, and since I carry out all of the work myself I can easily customise services to meet your needs.

Most of the clients I have worked with thus far are based in sociology, social anthropology, social work, education, ageing studies and migration and ethnic studies.

In my work I draw upon all that I’ve learned in my editorial training, the expertise that comes with holding a PhD and editorial experience from an international peer-reviewed journal. I am a member of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), a member of ACES: The Society for Editing, and at present an intermediate member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). These memberships allow me to keep up to speed with current developments in scholarly publishing and the editing world.

I hold a PhD in Ageing and Later Life from Linköping University, Sweden. You can read my dissertation Identity, Old(er) Age and Migrancy: A Social Constructionist Lens here. Whilst pursuing my PhD, I worked as Editorial Assistant for an international peer-reviewed open access journal (International Journal of Ageing and Later Life) for around seven years, and as Book Review Editor at the same journal for four years. These experiences allowed me to gain thorough behind-the-scenes insight into the peer-review and publication process, gave me the opportunity to communicate with researchers around the world, and laid excellent groundwork for pursuing a career in academic editing (­though little did I know that I would come to choose such a path!).

Since I decided to work as an academic editor, I have completed several courses in copyediting, proofreading, academic editing and related subjects with the CIEP and others. I always enjoy learning something new and dedicating time to continuing professional development when I can.

Before moving to Sweden, I completed my Master’s degree in Migration and Ethnic Studies at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. My interest in the subject inspired me to seek a faculty-financed PhD position in Ageing and Later Life that was angled towards questions of ethnicity and migration. As an undergraduate, I studied for a BA in European Social and Political Studies at University College London, UK. I studied Swedish at the Department of Scandinavian Studies as part of this degree, which included training in translation. While I’m originally from Germany, I spent a year in the United States as a high school student; this experience left me wanting to explore even more countries and eventually led me to England, the Netherlands and Sweden. I initially lived in Sweden for just one year as part of my undergraduate degree but met my husband-to-be during this time. After completing my degrees in London and Amsterdam, I returned and settled in Linköping where we now live with our two children.