Kelly Norwood-Young Email & Phone Number

Johannesburg, Gp, Za

Transition coaching to help individuals, teams, leaders and businesses navigate change and shape their unique success stories. Visit chapterchange.co to find out more.

As the founder of a creative communications company, I've taken the roles of campaign manager, project manager, producer, creative director, content strategist, content specialist, editor, writer and everything in between. Our team has worked with high-profile brands such as Oreo, Cadbury, Ford, Vans, Huawei, Nedbank, RMB, Yuppiechef, Cricket South Africa, Sunlight, Fedhealth, Penguin Random House, DigitalCampus, Hollard, and Flight Centre, showcasing our ability to generate compelling content and impactful campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences.

As a book editor and proofreader, I have wide-ranging experience in manuscript development, structural editing, copy editing, and proofreading.Since leaving my position as in-house editor at Penguin Books in 2013, I have completed freelance editorial work for leading publishers like Pan Macmillan and Penguin Books/ Penguin Random House, as well as a number of small publishers and self-published authors.I have been fortunate to work on books by award-winning authors, like Lauren Beukes, Nthikeng Mohlele, Achmat Dangor, Njabulo Ndebele, Patricia Schonstein, Mandla Langa, Terry Westby-Nunn, Maya Fowler, Mohale Mashigo, Khaya Dlanga, Maxine Case, and Marita van der Vyfer.

As the head of a global marketing team at Snapplify – an award-winning edtech company working to increase access to education and drive meaningful change – I was responsible for driving marketing strategy across all the markets Snapplify operates in, including Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the UK and Australia. As a member of the senior management team (EXCO), I actively contributed to setting the business strategy for future growth, successfully delivering tangible results while ensuring professional and personal growth for my team.

At Sensitive Midwifery, I found a unique platform that fused two passions: empowered maternity care and strategic communication. My direct collaboration with leading midwives and doulas, complemented by extensive research into evidence-based care, deepened my knowledge of pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period, and offered me profound insights into how to support and empower birthing people through these transitions.

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

This position gave me invaluable insight into social media as a marketing tool, and specifically, how these platforms can be harnessed to support authors, drive book sales, and connect with a community of readers online.As Penguin's social media manager, I was responsible for researching and writing relevant online content for social media and marketing initiatives; developing, driving and measuring the success of social media strategies; and creating, managing and growing the company’s presence through social media channels.

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

I edited and proofread fiction (literary and popular fiction) and non-fiction (cookery, business, biography/ memoir, coffee table books and gift books). As an in-house editor, I also checked any freelancers' proofs, wrote blurbs and proofread book jackets. I read and assessed many unsolicited manuscripts, and was involved in commissioning several titles. In addition to my editorial duties, I was responsible for contracts, permissions and rights. During this time, I developed good relationships with many Penguin authors.

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

In this position, I read and reviewed new book submissions (via literary agents, as well as unsolicited manuscripts); drew up author contracts, sub-licensing contracts and amendments; handled permission requests; coordinated foreign rights deals; and wrote and proofread blurbs and other sales/marketing material.During this time, I was mentored by the Publisher and the CEO (who had extensive editing experience, having worked closely with prize-winning authors over several decades) in the following areas: evaluating unsolicited manuscripts and making recommendations; giving editorial feedback; liaising with authors; proofreading/editing books; and coordinating rights deals. I began to proofread books for publication in the second half of 2009, and began editing books in 2010.

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

In this role, I led a large team of diverse people. Here, I consolidated key leadership skills, including active listening, emotional intelligence and self-awareness, conflict management, communication, and cultural awareness.My time at Exclusive Books – South Africa's leading bookstore chain – also laid a solid foundation for my future work in the book industry. From connecting with other readers on a daily basis, to maintaining stock and managing staff, this position gave me a nuanced understanding of the book market.As deputy manager, I was responsible for buying/ordering stock and managing backorders; sourcing books; recruiting new staff; training and managing staff; advising and assisting customers; and arranging promotional activities (e.g. book launches, coffee mornings, author signings, etc).

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

This short-term contract (covering someone's maternity leave) at Pan Macmillan was my introduction to publishing (before I began my BA Honours degree in Publishing the next year). In this position, I read and evaluated unsolicited book manuscripts, wrote blurbs, liaised with illustrators, assisted with publicity and marketing, and compiled research for book publications. During this time, I was also responsible for going through archives that Pan Macmillan had inherited for Ravan Press – the renowned anti-apartheid publishing house. This project involved sifting through contracts and correspondence from that time, ascertaining the rights situation on certain titles, and creating a record system so that Pan Macmillan could begin republishing some of these significant works under its Picador Africa imprint.

Ba Honours, Publishing, Cum Laude

Ba, English Literature, Social Anthropology