Editing is an essential part of the writing and publishing process, but the different stages of editing can sometimes feel confusing, daunting and hard to distinguish. What is the difference between structural editing and line-editing? When does copy editing happen? And what can writers expect from working with an editor?

Join us for ‘The Three Types of Edits You Need to Know’, an exclusive online event exploring the key editorial stages that transform a manuscript from first draft to finished book and the second event in our three-part autumn series of Publishing 101s.

Featuring Serena Arthur, Francesca Main and Joelle Owusu-Sekyere, this one-hour discussion will offer insight into three crucial areas of the process: structural editing, line-editing and copyediting. Our panel of industry-leading editors will take turns to share their approach to different stages of the process, where each edit sits within the timeline, share the do’s and don’ts and what authors can expect along the way.

There will be time set aside for questions from attendees. Whether you’re preparing a manuscript for submission, working through edits on your first book or simply curious about what happens behind the scenes in publishing, ‘The Three Types of Edits You Need to Know’ will help demystify the editorial process and give you a clearer understanding of the path to publication.

About the speakers

Serena Arthur is Commissioning Editor for the Footnote Press list at Bonnier Books UK, where she publishes bold, observant and memorable fiction in the literary and translated space. Outside of work, she is also a writer and performer of spoken word poetry. Before Bonnier, she worked at Hachette UK – first at Headline Books, where she was an editorial trainee and then editorial assistant and then at Orion Books, as a fiction Editor within the Trapeze Books team. As a student she was Deputy Editor and co-creator of Onyx magazine, which platforms the work of creatives of African and Caribbean descent.

Francesca Main is the publisher of Phoenix, an imprint of Orion, where her authors include Florence Knapp, Alison Espach, Emily Howes, Tom Newlands and Jessie Burton. She previously had editorial roles at Picador, S&S and Hamish Hamilton/Penguin. Francesca won the British Book Award for Editor of the Year in 2015 and was shortlisted for Imprint and Editor of the Year in 2026.

Joelle Owusu-Sekyere is Editorial Director and imprint lead at #Merky Books, Penguin Random House, with a decade of editorial experience. After completing a BSc in Petroleum Geology, she left the industry soon after to pursue her dream career in Publishing. She was previously Junior Editor at Unbound, where she built a list from scratch, then Commissioning Editor for Coronet (Hodder & Stoughton) before becoming Editorial Director at Dialogue where she acquired commercial non-fiction. Now publisher of culturally significant fiction and non-fiction at #Merky Books, Joelle has acquired a wide range of titles including Everybody Hates HR, based on the podcast of the same name, The Recovery House by Derek Owusu and the #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize-winning novel Where Geezers Call Home by Abaka Debrah. She is also a proud mentor to publishing hopefuls.

Claire Shanahan (chair) is Executive Director of The Women’s Prize Trust. Before moving to the charity sector, Claire worked in Editorial across a range of publishing, culture and media clients, including Pearson, Hachette, Penguin Random House, the Guardian and the BBC. Claire is on the board of Trustees for the charity Bookbanks and often appears as a keynote speaker on the arts, creativity and equality at global events.