About me
I’m a freelance writer and editor specialising in classical music. I draw on my own writing experience (the Guardian, Gramophone, Royal Ballet) to edit everything from books to social media content with sensitivity and understanding. I also work as a tutor at a leading journalism school.
CIEP grade: Professional Member
Keywords: academic, journalism, musicology, contemporary, ballet, opera
Instruments/Musical skills: choir, piano, flute
Location: Manchester
Qualifications
- MA MPhil, Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
Experience
- I’ve worked as an editor and/or proofreader for various organizations including the Deutsches Museum, La Biennale di Venezia, the Royal Opera House and texthouse. I work with individual writers, too, including self-publishers.
- As a freelancer, I work on books both academic and trade, from memoirs and biographies to conference proceedings. I’ve edited for record labels, apps and museums, and given grammar consultations to celebrity musicians. I love mixing it up.
- My specialist areas are classical music and dance, but I work across the arts and academia, as well as much further afield. As a qualified teacher of English as a foreign language, I’m very comfortable working with writers whose first language isn’t English.
Testimonials
Working on the other side of the world in Australia, I knew of Paul Kilbey’s fine writing on music and the arts, but was somewhat anxious about putting nearly 200,000 words of editorial work in his hands. But as soon as his first batch of developmental editing arrived I knew I had made the right choice.
Here was thorough, intensely practical advice, given with the utmost sensitivity to my initial ideas.
When the time for copyediting came round there was no question about the best person to undertake such detailed work on a long book, and I have been delighted with those results too. I can wholeheartedly recommend Paul as editor to any writer.
Ashley Killar, author of Cranko: The Man and his Choreography (forthcoming)
Please accept my sincerest thanks, also on behalf of the other authors, for the very high quality of your work. Your contribution is very much appreciated.
Artemis Yagou PhD, Research Associate, Deutsches Museum
Paul Kilbey worked at the Royal Opera House in Publishing and Interpretation from December 2014 to June 2017. He swiftly progressed from Editorial Assistant to Content Producer, with expanding responsibilities in the preparation of print that covered all aspects, from the central areas of proofing and editing through to design and image work, to create high-quality publications. With his arts expertise, Paul also wrote articles for publication on-line and in print that showed a fine sensitivity to language and register as well as analytic insight and cultural understanding.
Work for the Royal Opera House is particularly pressured, driven by a continuous stream of deadlines, the high level of public expectation and exposure and a great sensitivity to negotiating with many people with their own exacting standards and expertise. Paul consistently and impressively rose to such demands with his own high standards of accuracy, consistency, style, intelligent and perceptive questioning – always diplomatic – and scheduling.
With such a track record of sustained and proven results at the Royal Opera House, I can endorse Paul’s abilities for all aspects of editorial work and in publishing project management without reservation.
John Snelson, Head of Interpretation, Royal Opera House
Paul has done freelance work for texthouse since January 2016, proofreading and editing material for classical CD and DVD releases, including work on some of the largest box sets ever produced. He has also worked on subtitles, web copy and press releases. Using his subject knowledge as well as his publishing experience, he works thoroughly and neatly, can turn projects around at short notice, and adapts the level of his edit carefully to the task at hand.
Jochen Rudelt, texthouse
Paul was the first editor I ever worked with as a classical music writer, back in 2012, and his patience with my early efforts was boundless. His keen editorial eye, paired with this patience and his perceptive sensitivity, was instructive in my growth as a critic and listener. Having now written for many other publications, I can safely say that Paul is among the most amiable yet effective editors in the world of classical music criticism.
Rebecca Lentjes, musicologist and critic
Paul is a fine editor indeed, one who taught me a great deal when he edited Bachtrack. With gentle encouragement, a kind pen, and a helpful outlook, he knows how to bring out the voice of a writer – because he is an accomplished one himself.
David Allen, freelance classical music critic (New York Times, Gramophone)