Hi, I’m Cecile.
If you’ve come to my website I’m going to assume you are on the look out for one (or more) of the following:
Get in touch here to talk about your project and how I can best assist you.
Testimonials
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We are much impressed by her meticulous yet sensitive approach to editing and her understanding of how children’s fiction works. It is a pleasure to work with her.
— Sophie Masson AM, Publishing Director, Christmas Press
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I approached Cecile after a major structural edit, when I needed a fresh set of eyes on my manuscript, and I’m so glad I did. Her feedback was thoughtful, detailed, and wonderfully insightful. She helped me see whether the story’s key elements were working as intended, balancing encouragement with clear, actionable suggestions. Her attention to grammar, timeline, and clarity was excellent. I’d happily recommend her to any writer seeking a diligent, professional early read.
— Anna Johnston, author of The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife and When Lemons Give You Life
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Working with Cecile to bring my books to life has been a pleasure. Her expertise ensured that the characters and settings in my manuscripts were brought vividly to life. She has incredible attention to detail, catching inconsistencies I had overlooked, including grammar and punctuation, but also historical detail. Cecile has always communicated with clarity and shown respect for what I was trying to achieve in my writing. I cannot recommend her highly enough.
— Pauline Wilson, Author of Conflict At Hanging Rock, Breaking Free and Family & Fortune
Upcoming events
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![Jodi McAlister A Study in Sparkling]()
Jodi McAlister - A Study in Sparkling
Join us at Solterra & Vine to talk wine, romance, writing and more.
Jodi McAlister shares her new romance novel A Study In Sparkling.
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![Jock Serong]()
A Suitable Man - Jock Serong
Fri, 18 Sep, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Bendigo Library
Many Australians know of Fletcher Jones - the stores, the clothing, the daggy dad slacks - but few know the extraordinary man behind it all. David Fletcher Jones was an autodidact, a wanderer and dreamer who became a visionary businessman and social entrepreneur.
Jock Serong's biography is a fascinating look into Australia's twentieth century progress across social policy, immigration, manufacturing, the city and country divide and the rise and fall of wool. But most importantly, perhaps, it shows what is to be learned from Fletcher Jones's fundamental human decency and his determination to run an enterprise for profit while seeking to do good at individual and societal levels.
Jock will be in-conversation with Cecile Shanahan to share the research and stories he uncovered as he wrote A Suitable Man.
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![Lorraine Marwood event image]()
The Power of Verse
A tribute to children’s author Lorraine Marwood
Bridgewater Hall Supper Room
Saturday 3 October 11am-12pm
A tribute to the late children’s author Lorraine Marwood whose award-winning novels focus on family life in Loddon shire. Children's authors Claire Saxby and Glenda Millard will be in conversation with Bendigo editor Cecile Shanahan to celebrate Lorraine’s life and writing. Proudly presented by Goldfields Libraries.
Free: bookings required, morning tea served.
A copy of Contours of Our Lives: reflections from the kitchen table (a community book created with Lorraine Marwood at the Dingee Library Agency) will be gifted to all attendees.
Books I’ve worked on
'Why Should We Venture Out?' By Tilly Fry and illustrated by Polyana Kohn. Published 2025. My role: Proofreader.
'The Devil's Ward' by Dharshaini G. Published 2025. My role: Copy editor
'Groundwork: Laying the foundation for Career Success. A Guide for Teens' by Elizabeth Wallace. Published 2025. My role: Structural editor
'Only the Lonely' by Gráinne McGovern-Scott. Published 2025. My role: Line editor.
'The Lastling' by Victor Kelleher. Published 2025 by Christmas Press (Eagle Books imprint). My role: Editor
'Tilly and the Moonlit Garden' by Marion Semtner. Published 2025. My role: Editor.
'Family & Fortune' by Pauline Wilson. Published 2025. My role: Copy editor
'Eleanor Jones is Not a Murderer' by Amy Doak published by Penguin 2023. My role: Editor of manuscript before acquisition by Penguin, and proofreader of typeset pre-press proofs.
'The Guinea Dad' by Mark Stevenson. Published 2023. My role: Manuscript assessment and mentoring.
'The Adventures of Herbert Moosh, Book One: The Cats of the Link'. Published 2024. My role: Line editor
'Breaking Free' by Pauline Wilson. Published 2023. My role: Editor
'Child In My Life' by Valerie Church. Published 2024. My role: Copy editor.
'In Lily's Books' by Anne Whorlton. Published 2023. My role: Line editor
'Montessori Brains (My Brain Only Gets Built Once)' by Nati Beltran and Pilar Enrich - My role: Manuscript assessment and writing mentoring for English Language version. Published in Spanish in 2024.
'Memories & Milestones Tertiary Education in Bendigo 1873-2023'. Published by La Trobe University Library, 2023. My role: Copy editor
'Thyla' by Kate Gordon, young adult novel, first published 2011. Re-published in 2022 by Ligature (untapped series). My role: Proofreader.
'40 Single Gay' by Jonathon Lee Published 2023. My role: Copy editor
'Dragon Dance' by Lauren Mitchell, Illustrated by Geoff Hocking. Published 2023. My role: Grammar consultant.
'Hide and Seek, Ellham Woods Trilogy Book 2', by John Parnham. Published 2023. My role: Copy editor.
'Finn’s Folly' by Ivan Southall, young adult novel, first published 1969. Re-published in 2022 by Ligature (untapped series). My role: Proofreader.
'Mulbury Mystery #1, A Sticky Situation' by Juno Harvey. Published 2021. My role: Proofreader
'Bread and Honey' by Ivan Southall, young adult novel, first published 1969. Re-published in 2022 by Ligature (untapped series). My role: Proofreader.
'Tupaia, Isaac & Cook – The Search for The Great South Land' by Mark Wilson. Published by Windy Hollow Books, 2021. My role: Proofreader
'The Music from the Sea' by Jackie French, young adult fantasy. First published 1993. Published in 2022 by Ligature (untapped series). My role: Proofreader.
'Conflict at Hanging Rock' by Pauline Wilson. Published 2022. My role: Editor
'The Metal Men' by Jackie French, young adult fantasy novel, first published 1993. Re-published in 2022 by Ligature (untapped series). My role: Proofreader.
'The House of a Hundred Animals' by Jackie French, young adult fantasy novel, first published 1993. Re-published in 2022 by Ligature (untapped series). My role: Proofreader.
'the future is fair - a celebration of Fairtrade and the Pacific'. Published 2022. My role: Proofreader.
'The Tribe That Sang to Trees' by Jackie French, young adult fantasy novel, first published 1993. Re-published in 2022 by Ligature (untapped series). My role: Proofreader.
'The Army's Daughter' by Meg Barber. Published 2023. My role: Manuscript assessor.
'Clearlake' by Stanislava Buevich. Published Dec 2023 My role: Copy editor
'The City in the Sand' by Jackie French, young adult fantasy. First published 1993. Published in 2022 by Ligature (untapped series). My role: Proofreader
'Who Wants Love?' by Ash Phoenix. Published 2023. My role: Line editor and developmental editor.
'Listing Life: Easy list-making to discover who you really are, what you truly want from life & how to get it' by Amy Doak. My role: Proofreader.
'Eleanor Jones Can’t Keep a Secret'. By Amy Doak. My role: Early reader.
'Running Forever.' By C A Sole. Published 2023. My role: Proofreader.
'Wholebrain Learning' Resources - 3 Book Set. My role: Copy editor of manuscripts and proofreader.
'My Bucketlist Blueprint' by Travis Bell. Published in 2020. My role: Developmental and copy editor of manuscript.
'The Vox Bendigo Book: Young Writers Anthology 2016-2021' published by Bendigo Writers Festival. My role: Commissioning editor.
'Nursing Aids at War: The Australian Army Medical Women's Service in the Second World War' (Australian Army History Series) by Jason Smeaton. Cambridge University Press. 2026. My role: Proofreader.
'Eleanor Jones is Playing with Fire'. By Amy Doak. My role: First reader.
'When Lemons Give You Life'. By Anna Johnston. 2026. My role: Early reader.
'Inclusive Practice in the Early Years - Rights, Relationships and Reflection' by Warren et al. Cambridge University Press. 2026. My role: Proofreader
'What Have They Done to Liza McLean?' By Amy Doak. Published 2025. My role: Early reader and proofreader.
'Paru' by Wendy Lawrence. Published 2026. My role: Editor
'Becoming an Indie Author' by Pauline Wilson. My role: Editor
'Earthside' series by Katerina Larsen and Lisa Vleming. My role: Editor
'Only the Wild' by Victor Kelleher. To be released Sept 2026 by Christmas Press (Eagle Books imprint). My role: copy editor
What’s happening over on Instagram?
@cecileshanahan_
