Dawn Jelley

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Freelance editor, journalist & copywriter


Dawn Jelley journalist editor copywriter

Tell your story with quality copy

I’m an experienced journalist, editor and digital communications specialist with over 20 years’ experience working in online, broadcast and print media. Over the years I have created and edited content for household names, including the BBC, Google, House of Lords, Sky, Discovery and Yahoo.

I generally work on commissions in both consumer and commercial digital and print publications. You can contact me for writing contracts, ranging from short snappy social media headlines to long form features and blogs that take a whole cup of coffee to read.

Sometimes it’s a simple case of finding the right words. Clients often come to me with great ideas and bags of information that simply needs articulating, be it web content, a Twitter or Facebook campaign or a current affairs feature. I can help you tell your story.

My work

  • Living Magazine - Personal Touch Roland Helou by Dawn Jelley
  • Bespoke Magazine - Pegasus superyacht
  • Bespoke Magazine - Malek Sukkar, Averda
  • Bespoke magazine - Tarek Shamma article by Dawn Jelley
  • Bespoke Magazine - Heba El Dessouky article by Dawn Jelley
  • Bespoke Magazine - The Evolution of Wealth - Mohammad Kamal Syed
  • The VMS market – providing supplementary benefits

A selection of pieces, click to see at larger size

Novels

Dawn is currently completing the prestigious MA in Prose Fiction at the University of East Anglia and is devoting her time to her debut novel, The Suffolk Merman. The historical fiction was longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2024 and shortlisted for the Adventures in Fiction Spotlight First Novel Award 2024.

The historical fiction (80,000 words), is inspired by the legend of the Wild Man of Orford – recorded in 1207 by Ralph of Coggeshall in the Chronicon Anglican. In Orford, 1167, a merman, is imprisoned at Orford Castle in Suffolk during Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine’s visit. When Amiria Pantulf, Eleanor of Aquitaine’s close companion, encounters a merman in the keep, who has been fished out of the Morimaru Sea, she is captivated by his otherworldly force. As machinations of power rage in the court, and their love deepens, Amiria is torn between her duty and her freedom. The novel is for readers of Hamnet, Wolf Hall and Matrix.

Her second historical fiction is a work in progress. It is based on Christina of Markyate, an eligible 12th century woman, who spurns marriage to become an anchoress, only to be tempted by love and desire.

Dawn is represented by Laurie Robertson at Peters Fraser + Dunlop.

What clients say

  • “Dawn always writes fresh, interesting copy to deadline. I can be confident that Dawn’s features are factually correct and meet every aspect of the brief, but she is not afraid to suggest good creative ideas of her own. Healthcare is just one of Dawn’s specialist subjects, and she has great contacts, years of experience, and wide-ranging knowledge in this area. Dawn is a pleasure to work with and I would thoroughly recommend her to editors of all types of publication.”
    Steve Bremer, former editor, Independent Community Pharmacist magazine
  • “It’s always a great pleasure working with Dawn. She’s always met expectations with regards to quality and meeting tight deadlines. This has made her my default editor for the past six years.”
    David Suswa, Faculty Advisor for Marketing & Communication, The Hague University of Applied Sciences
  • “I’ve worked with Dawn on new web texts for thuas.com. It was quite a big and complicated project. Dawn jumped right in there and got to work. She works fast and delivers good quality texts with the correct tone of voice for our target group. I enjoyed working with her. If you’re looking for a journalist/copy writer, I would definitely recommend Dawn for the job.”
    Lara Billingham, marketing team, The Hague University of Applied Sciences
  • “Dawn took on board the brief really quickly and got to grips with the brand’s very specific tone of voice and content selection. I really enjoy reading Dawn’s work because it’s always very descriptive and evocative. She’s also a real pleasure to work with and friendly to chat to. I’d happily work with Dawn again.”
    Commissioning editor, Google
  • “Dawn met every deadline I set and provided consistently high-quality work that matched each brief required. She is reliable, quick, enthusiastic and delivers excellent products. I would recommend her for any copywriting.”
    Marketing manager, The Hague University of Applied Sciences
  • “Dawn and I worked together on a number of projects for the www.parliament.uk website and its social media channels, including coverage of high profile events such as the State Opening of Parliament. Dawn is reliable, knowledgeable and fun, and I would happily work with her again in the future.”
    Colleague, UK Parliament
  • “Dawn wrote a large number of online travel overviews to a strict brief, successfully staying on brand and producing sparkling copy. She was great fun to work with, unfailingly met her deadlines and was happy to take on even more work at short notice. I for one hope to work with her again.”
    Commissioning editor, Frommer’s
  • “Dawn’s a professional, always on track with a bright, well-developed skillset for making sure the projects we work on together run more smoothly as a matter of course. No doubting those copy credentials either!”
    Jeremy Walker, Director, Degas Guruve


Contact Dawn

Dawn Jelley copywriter journalist editor


    London/Essex based, working with clients in the UK and abroad.