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Jo Chumas "writer extraordinaire"
A love affair with words............
Words are my life; assembling them, sculpting them, shaping them, reading them, writing them. I work with them every single day, and am passionate about them. I can't imagine a world without words, and can't imagine a better job than being a writer.
I've been a professional, published freelance writer for the past 20 years, and a writer of stories since the age of seven.
I work as a freelance journalist, copywriter, marketing communications writer, website copywriter, speech writer, ghost-writer, podcast writer, blog and e-book writer, and PR consultant. I have self-published little books of prose poetry that have sold around the world, have been invited to read and debate at literary festivals, and have been interviewed on radio three times about my writing.
I am currently revising my first novel ready for publication.
My commercial writing and literary work have been translated into many different languages, and published all over the world. Have a look at the 'my portfolio' page to see examples of my work.
about me About me
I was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England in the 1960s. At the age of eight, I moved with my family to Brussels, Belgium where my father worked as a senior diplomat at the European Commission.
I became bilingual (French/English), and can still understand and speak French very well. I attended the European School of Bruxelles (I) for seven years, and loved living in Brussels (or Bruxelles, as I still write it).
Being educated in Europe sealed my love of words. I was surrounded each and every day by a rainbow of languages, and studied Dutch, German, Italian, French, Spanish and Latin at school. Later I went to Kent College School for Girls, in Pembury Kent where I got eight ‘O’ Levels and three ‘A’ Levels.
On leaving school, I went to Goldsmith’s College, the University of London to study for a degree in French Literature, before embarking on a career in journalism. I then moved to Australia where I worked as a journalist and freelance writer for 11 years before being head-hunted for an editor's position in the United Arab Emirates.
I'm a devoted mum to my two sons, aged 14 and 19. Being a mum is my favourite 'job' in the world.
My passions are my family and friends, literature from all over the world, reading, writing for work, writing for pleasure, travel, theatre, ancient cultures, history, good food and wine, coffee, beautiful scenery, cycling, swimming, collecting antique books, politics, learning new things, art, architecture, and all things Mediterranean. Above all, I love the simple things in life, and strive for a Zen-like approach to living.
what I write What I write
Articles for magazines, newspapers and websites
I have worked as a staff journalist and editor as well as a freelance journalist over the past twenty years.I have written about finance and the banking sector, health, parenting, the Arts, politics, teenage issues, academic subjects, home educating, property, travel and interior design. But my first love is writing about people. Check out my portfolio page to read some of my work.
Marketing Communications writing
I have written and edited staff magazines, newsletters and project-specific marketing material for global companies such as SSL International (Durex & Scholl), Nestle Middle East, Manazel Real Estate and the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).
Copywriting
I write sizzling advertising copy for business. Companies such as Costa Coffee, the Fairmont Hotel chain and Nestle Middle East have used me, among many, many others.
Ghost-written articles
I have ghost-written articles for CEOs and industry professionals; these articles have appeared in the international press.
Scripts for podcasts & speeches for VIPs
I wrote the scripts for the Saffron Building Society (UK) podcasts. These scripts were then read out and performed to air by the then CEO Andy Golding and his colleague. I have also written speeches for academics in the field of international education, and these speeches have been read to conference delegates at international events.
Go to the 'my portfolio' page and click the link to view a selection of my published work.
PR PR
I also work as a freelance PR account director, specialising in international PR, and have done so for the past six years, running successful campaigns for a variety of clients across the education and human resources sectors.
For example, the University of Sheffield commissioned me to run an international PR campaign in 2010 to promote their longstanding relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The campaign focused on an event taking place at the University in the UK, organised by a University of Sheffield PhD student from KSA, Ms Ahlam Al-Zahrani.
I developed a PR plan for the University, and organized interviews with Ms. Al-Zahrani and other event stakeholders, as well as senior members of the University's Department of External Relations. I wrote the press release, advised on cultural sensitivities specific to selling news stories to the Middle East region, and then sold the story to newspapers, magazines and a TV channel in the region.
Here are just a few of the publications and media that picked up the University of Sheffield story.
• Arab News in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• The National - an influential English-language Abu Dhabi-based broadsheet with national/regional and international news
• UAE Digest - a respected monthly news magazine with national/regional and international news.
• Al Bawaba news wire - Middle East news wire that feeds into news agencies such as Reuters, Dow Jones etc. in the region, and is sent to a large database of subscribers -
• Wazzup - a Gulf education magazine - feature
•Saudi TV Channel 2 - English language news channel - The Week in Review TV programme.
my portfolio 
My portfolio
A selection of my published work can be seen by clicking on the following link:
http://bit.ly/vrHz9W
This link will take you to my FLICKR site. Double click on each of the sets to read my articles in full. I will be adding more examples of my writing over the next few weeks.
I can also send clients links to individual examples of my writing in the following categories:-
* journalism
* marketing communications writing
* copywriting
* podcast script writing
* ghost-writing
* speech writing
* website copy
* blogs
* social media
To view testimonials from clients, connect with me via LinkedIn. My testimonials are published on my LinkedIn page.
clients Clients
Southbank International School, London
University of Cambridge International Examinations
University of Sheffield
Hydrogen Group, Middle East, Australia and Singapore 2010 & 2011
University of Exeter, UK
SSL International (Durex and Scholl)
Saffron Building Society, UK
University of Coventry, UK
Sand & City Properties, UK
British College of Interior Design, UK
Communications Management, UK
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (London and UAE)
Al Habtoor Engineering Dubai, UAE
Manazel Real Estate, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Renaissance Hotel, Dubai, UAE
Nestle Middle East, Dubai, UAE
Utopia Design Arabia, Dubai, UAE
Super Models Dubai, UAE
Ghesa Fountains, Dubai, UAE
Panasonic, Middle East, Dubai, UAE
Assia in Wok Restaurants, Dubai, UAE
YK4 Designs Advertising, Dubai, UAE
Panasonic Middle East, Dubai, UAE
ESCAN Master Developer, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Al Serkal Group Middle East, Dubai, UAE
St George Limited Middle East, Dubai, UAE
ESCAN Medical/HIV Education, Dubai, UAE
Costa Coffee, Middle East
Gary Peer & Associates (Australia)
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (London and UAE)
Prima magazine (Hearst)
Psychologies magazine (Hearst)
Emirates Home magazine, Dubai, UAE
Inside Out magazine, Dubai, UAE
Spress Australia www.spress.com.au
Leader newspaper (News Corporation), Melbourne, Australia
Southern Cross newspaper, Melbourne, Australia
Central Times , Scotland
my rates 
My rates
Get in touch to find out how my freelance writing and international PR service can add value to your organisation, giving you the flexibility to pick and choose when you need a creative expert.
I offer affordable one-off hourly rate packages for businesses who need a marketing communications writer but who might not have the budget for a long-term commitment, as well as cost-effective deals for larger companies looking for an on-going freelance writer/PR expert with years of experience across every category of communications.
Call me on +44 (0) 785 554 7710 (UK mobile) and let's talk about how I can add value to your business.
contact 
Contact me
Jo Chumas
Freelance writer
73 Argyle Street
Cambridge
CB1 3LS
UK
+44 (0) 785 554 7710
jo_jochumas.com
joanna_firedoll.co.uk
Twitter - www.twitter.com/jochumas
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/jochumas
Facebook www.facebook.com/joanna.chumas