About Jo
I was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire (too) many moons ago. I discovered my talent for writing in primary school and it haunted me throughout my school years. In 1992, I sacrificed my ambition to become the next Demi Moore and plumped for an English degree at the wildly exotic University of Huddersfield.
After graduating I spotted a job in The Guardian promising free drinks on a Friday night. Without further ado I packed my bags and spent the next year in the marketing department of a publishing house. I was best avoided on a Friday night, after 9pm.
I moved-on in summer ’96 to pursue a career in the music industry, joining a small team of creative marketing consultants in Chelsea who worked with major record labels to put compilation albums together. Talking about and listening to music all day was my idea of heaven. I even wrote sleeve notes for many albums in the prestigious, multi-million-selling Now That’s What I Call Music! series – beat that for a claim to fame!
In addition to the 9-to-5, I contributed regularly to BBC Online’s teen section, writing quizzes, relationship features and celebrity stories. I also placed movie and music-related reviews and interviews with Virgin Megastore’s Slant and The Fly.
In late 2002, after marrying Matthew, a freelance artist, I made the leap to freelancing full-time. As well as teenage-interest commissions from the BBC and Sneak magazine, I also started copy writing for a record label in Belfast and various international advertising agencies, including Euro RSCG.
In 2003, I was commissioned by German-owned blog-hosts, 20six.co.uk. Being involved in blogging at the time it exploded in the UK was hugely exciting– but the experience was dwarfed by my revelatory foray into motherhood in May 2004.
I continued working for 20six as well as accepting ad-hoc copy writing and editorial commissions, finding the delicate balance of parenthood and work challenging and hugely rewarding.
In 2006, I focused on magazine and newspaper work, which had always been my goal - and my passion. Over the next year my work was published in The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Express, The Sunday Mirror, The People, Practical Parenting, Love It!, Real People, Essentials, REAL, More and Bliss.
I absolutely love my work and combining it with my role as a mum comes naturally. I’m ambitious and driven, with a good nose for a great story and shed loads of tenacity and talent. I’ve completed an invaluable foundation stage counselling skills qualification and treat my interviewees sensitively, respectfully and with genuine warmth and kindness.
I never miss a deadline and always file copy of the highest standard. My portfolio is stuffed to the gills, which is testament to my hard-working attitude and dogged determination.
I’m also game for a laugh, swear like a trooper and drink far too much at parties; you can take the girl out of Bradford, but you can’t take Bradford out of the girl.
