I'm Brian G Burns. For more than 20 years, I’ve been working in content management and production, across a wide range of digital and print services and products.

 

My area of expertise is healthcare, charity and not-for-profit communications, covering areas such as hearing loss, autism, cancer, lung diseases and diabetes. 

 

With a background in non-fiction book publishing, I have also covered finance and business, sports and games, sports psychology, popular culture, crime and forensic science, design and interiors, food and drink, science and technology, history, biography and much more.

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I'm also interested in a wide range of subjects, and by this stage versatility comes as standard, so I'm always happy to consider taking on  something new.

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Testimonials

 

I worked with Brian at Action on Hearing Loss on numerous projects throughout 2017. Brian is one of the most hardworking and dedicated people I have worked with. He worked on a range of content, including factsheets, brochures, annual and other full-length reports, and promotional campaigns such as the London Marathon fundraising campaign. 

 

He has an extremely thorough approach and an excellent eye for detail. His input always made a huge difference to the quality of our content. He is organised and able to work in a very busy team with a high volume of output. 

 

Apart from his professional expertise, on a personal level, he is a pleasure to work with. He has a great sense of humour and fitted in well within the team. We were all sad to see him go. 

 

Since then, Brian has also worked for me on a number of projects at Ambitious about Autism – including annual reports, school prospectuses and a detailed guide to autism in the early years for parents.

 

I would highly recommend Brian for anyone looking for a writer, editor or content producer.

—Aleksandra Kapuran, Senior Marketing Manager, Ambitious about Autism

 

 

I first worked with Brian at Diabetes UK, when he was editor of the healthcare professionals’ magazine. He acted as a mentor to me in my junior role and taught me a great deal about content management. I’ve since had the pleasure of working alongside Brian at Action on Hearing Loss, where he has produced high-quality content for print and digital products.

 

Brian remains one of the most gifted and professional writers and editors I’ve worked with. He is able to turn the most complex information into clear, accessible content with ease, and can quickly align his writing style to a brand’s voice and tone guidelines. He’s also extremely organised and efficient.

 

At Action on Hearing Loss, Brian’s content proved to meet both user needs and the organisation’s goals. For example, in 2018, when he wrote new product descriptions for the online shop, sales increased because he gave customers the information they needed in the language they used.

 

I highly recommend Brian as an extremely skilled content specialist for print and digital products.

—Kate Flagg, Content Design Lead, Action on Hearing Loss

 

 

Shortly after I had been appointed Managing Editor of the charity Diabetes UK, Brian quickly became my first choice as a freelance editor and writer. He could be relied on for everything from simple personal experience features to the most complicated scientific research or policy-based reports. His work was always of an exceptional standard and delivered on time and to budget.

 

He subsequently became my first choice as the new Medical and Science Editor. As soon as he started in the job, he identified changes that needed to be made and had the vision and determination to transform and relaunch the healthcare professional magazine, Diabetes Update, to much praise and success. He repeated this on Research Matters (scientific research for general audiences) and was a driving force in the relaunch of the membership magazine Balance. 

He worked across print and the website and undertook one-off projects across the charity, earning the gratitude of colleagues across many teams for his professional attitude and standard of work.

 

I relied on Brian for his intelligence and knowledge, regularly used him as a sounding board, and valued his honesty, integrity and sense of humour. He always helped colleagues, going above and beyond what was expected of him, taking enormous pride in his work and always striving for the best.

 

In my current role at UNISON, I rarely need to call on freelancers. When the occasion did arise in 2017, I called again on Brian. And, again, he delivered.

Martin Cullen, Editorial and Content Manager at UNISON, the public service union

 

 

Brian Burns worked for me as a project editor at Amber Books, where I was Editorial Director at the time. Across the course of three years, he proved himself a valuable member of our editorial team. Brian managed highly complex book projects with intelligence and aplomb. He was dedicated to achieving the best possible results, even in the face of tight deadlines and limited resources. He is also one of the best copy editors I’ve worked with, having an exceptional talent for crafting crisp, clear, engaging text. I would warmly recommend him to any organisation or individual seeking to engage a top editor and an outstanding team member. 

—Sally Collings, Book Proposal Specialist + Founder, Red Hill Publishing San Jose, CA

 

 

I worked with Brian for three years at a large health charity, where he was the editor of two magazines I used to design, and I also worked with him on numerous other projects. He's a consummate professional, whether you need crystal-clear copywriting, detailed line-by-line editing for clarity and accuracy, or major structural editing/rewriting.

 

I enjoy collaborating with Brian, as he always brings a high level of energy and creativity to projects as well has his perfectionist eye for detail. He raises the game of the whole team and always produces excellent outcomes. 
—John Clarkson, JohnClarksonDesign

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Please get in touch to discuss a project and get a quote.