Writer · Editor · Publisher

Books for writers.
Editing for authors.

I'm Joanna Booth, a writer and editor in Bristol. I publish books for writers, readers and colourists, and I edit and format books for independent authors.

See the books Editing services
Also on the site: Travel Alerts, an ambient night-time player →

New series

220 Words
a Day

Write 220 words a day for a year and you have about 80,000 words. That is a full novel. This three-book series takes you from the first idea to a finished manuscript.

220 Words a Day, Book 1: Beginnings, by Joanna Booth

Book 1

Beginnings

Write your novel in one year

Start here. Set up the daily habit, find your story and write your first words.

Buy on Amazon
220 Words a Day, Book 2: The Year, by Joanna Booth

Book 2

The Year

Your first draft, week by week

A companion for the drafting year. Each week gives you a focus, so the draft keeps moving.

Buy on Amazon
220 Words a Day, Book 3: Revising, by Joanna Booth

Book 3

Revising

Turn your draft into a finished novel

You have a complete draft. This book takes you through revising it into a novel you can share.

Buy on Amazon

New to the series? Start with Book 1: Beginnings. Each book picks up where the last one ends.

About the series →

More of my books

Books you can
buy right now

Knitting patterns, colouring books, an illustrated Christie and a writing notebook. All available on Amazon.

The Advent Shawl: 24 Days of Knitting, by Joanna Booth

The Advent Shawl: 24 Days of Knitting

23 patterns, one shawl, your design. Knit through the 24 days of Advent. In print and on Kindle.

Buy on Amazon
Rooms of Her Own: A Subversive Mid-Century Colouring Book

Rooms of Her Own

A subversive mid-century colouring book. 32 scenes of independent women, with a quiet rebellion hidden in each one.

Buy on Amazon See sample pages →
SEND, Surveillance and Accountability, by Joanna Booth

SEND, Surveillance and Accountability

A satirical colouring book responding to the inquiry into Bristol City Council's monitoring of SEND families.

Buy on Amazon About the inquiry →
1920s Dollhouse Colouring Book, Ephemeral Publishing

1920s Dollhouse Colouring Book

Colour the rooms of a 1920s dollhouse, from the attic studio to the dining room. The new edition.

Buy on Amazon

The Secret of Chimneys (Illustrated)

Agatha Christie's 1925 country-house mystery, with illustrations. Kindle ebook.

Buy on Amazon
The Cat Haiku Notebook

The Cat Haiku Notebook

Cats. Haikus. A perfect pair.

Buy on Amazon

Browse Bristol books and recommendations

Editing & formatting

Finished your draft?
I can help with the next stage.

I edit and format books for independent authors, academics and translators. Copy editing, proofreading, book formatting, manuscript evaluations and Dutch-to-English translation checks, all at a fixed price.

  • Copy editingfrom £110
  • Proofreadingfrom £90
  • Book formattingfrom £150
  • Evaluations & translation checkson request
Services and quotes →

Travel Alerts · now playing

Begin transmission

A quiet, looping player that reads real National Highways travel alerts aloud over distant motorway and light rain. Part archive, part late-night radio.

Open the player → Best with the sound on

Latest

News and
new work

New book · Knitting

The Advent Shawl: 24 Days of Knitting

October 2026

Cover of The Advent Shawl

My new knitting book is out in print and on Kindle. It has 23 patterns that build into one shawl, and you choose the design. Knit through the 24 days of Advent, and get your copy and your yarn before 1 December.

Buy on Amazon →

Recent posts

October 2026

220 Words a Day: Books 1 and 3 now on Amazon

Beginnings and Revising are out now. Book 2, The Year, follows shortly.

31 May 2025

New UK Authorities Frontend Launched

A searchable frontend for exploring UK local authority data, with no login required.

15 May 2025

Bristol Books Collection Updated

New local Bristol authors and titles added to the curated collection.

March 2025

Manuscript Evaluation Service Launched

A new structured report service for authors preparing to self-publish.
All posts → Substack →

I also write about self-publishing, civic data, and more on Substack. Free to read and subscribe.

Read on Substack →

Other projects

More from
Stillawake

Civic research, data explainers and other things I've made along the way.

Reading & writing

Writing

Substack

Longer pieces on self-publishing, civic data and more.

Archive

All posts

Every update and announcement from this site.

Books

Our books

Colouring books, journals and workbooks.

Writing tools

Story templates

Templates and prompts for writers.

Map

Women writers world map

Women writers from around the world, on one map.

Reading guide

Feel-good books

Books to read if you love Fannie Flagg.

Map

Bristol literary map

Writers and books connected to Bristol.

Civic & council

Bristol

Council committees

Every Bristol City Council committee, and where to find its papers.

Inquiry

The SEND spying inquiry

The report, an accessible version and the council's own documents.

Contract

The Newton contract

What Newton was contracted to do for Bristol's Families First programme.

Monitor

Westward

A public accountability monitor.

Tool

Public forum rules

How each UK council lets the public speak and ask questions.

Tool

Councillor interests

Search councillors' registers of interests.

Guide

Scrutiny guide

A practical guide to scrutinising local government.

Data & experiments

Learning

Learning journals

Calm, practical journals for data science and Power BI.

Network

Six Degrees of British TV

How British TV actors connect to each other.

Sound & vision

Travel Alerts player

An ambient player built from real motorway travel alerts.

Tracker

Tarot tracker

Log and look back over your tarot readings.

Game

Sounds Legit

A word game of clever deception.

Timeline

Ancient civilisations

An interactive timeline of the ancient world.
44 Books published
10+
Years editing
Bristol
Based in

About

Writer, editor,
publisher.

I'm based in Bristol. I've worked as an editor for more than ten years, and I've published 44 books through my imprint, Ephemeral Publishing. They range from writing guides to colouring books.

I edit fiction, academic manuscripts and Dutch-to-English translations, and I format books for print and ebook. Outside publishing, I work in data and research, which is where the projects further down this page come from.

Editing services