Graham Verdon

Graham Verdon > Editorial Strategy / Storytelling / Journalism / Ghostwriting

Me

Selected Experience

Developmental Editor / Ghostwriter Various Projects 2021 - present

Digital Publishing Consultant Current Events Magazine 2018 – 2020

Creative direction, digital marketing and editorial services for a fast-growing online current affairs magazine. We offer free thought to readers around the world, primarily in the realm of culture, science, tech and politics.

Overview

Editor, Ghostwriter, Author, Editorial Director

      >>My LinkedIn profile>>

I am a multi-media multi-hyphenate. Most recently, I have been heavily engaged in ghostwriting and developmental editing of books.

And I have more than 20 years of experience developing multimedia content programs that grow audiences and build brands. You could call it strategic storytelling. I’ve been editor/creative lead for several custom media and content marketing programs rooted in quality journalism, both on the agency/publishing side and the client side, both here and in the US. I am now doing this for a purely editorial outlet that is in the midst of exciting growth and big change.

I also help with social media strategy and execution, figuring out how best to bring quality storytelling to this environment where the consumer demands involvement. 

Some of the brands I've worked or am working on: Acura, GEICO, CNN, TNT Television, Bank of America, Labatt, Mazda, Canada Post, AOL Canada, 888.com Gaming, JTI Macdonald, Corby brands (Absolut, The Glenlivet, Wiser's, Malibu etc.) and Del Monte.

As a seasoned manager of creative teams, I have helped lead staffs of writers, editors, art directors and designers toward world-class results.

I've been creating digital content since 1997, which is long enough to have seen ideas come and go and come back again a decade later as new ideas. All the digital hype du jour is meaningless--even potentially destructive--to your brand, if not rooted in a coherent strategy designed to tell a powerful tale and drive results.

Writing and Ghostwriting

I am a ghostwriter of anything from speeches to memoirs and have several exciting projects in the works. I am a veteran writer and editor, mostly in entertainment, lifestyle/pop culture and travel. I started with entertainment writing, doing film and music commentary and celebrity interview pieces on everyone from George Clooney to Mike Myers. Over the years I have written articles on everything from cars to travel to beer to music to personal finance to...you name it..

Awards

My work has garnered awards from the custom publishing “Eddies” to the digital “Webbys" (in the first year of the Webby Awards!) and teams I've led have won more than 50 custom content awards in the last few years (Folio, Pearl, Magnum Opus).

Acura Style magazine won a Custom Content Council Bronze Pearl Award for Best Overall Editorial and Best Overall Design, as two examples.

 

Content Marketing Consultant                                             wordplay, inc.          2004 – present           

Branded content strategy and execution. Selected clients: Spafax, St. Joseph Media’s Tag3, Chill Media/The Beer Store, Mosaic Marketing & Sales Solutions. 

 

Content Director / Editor-in-Chief / Print and Digital     Totem Brand Stories / TC Media     2005 – 2014              

Creative lead, branded content programs for Acura, GEICO, Mazda, Bank of America, Canada Post, more.

 

Channel Manager, Men’s Vertical                                     AOL Canada, Toronto                        2003 – 2004              

Creative and business development lead for Men’s, Sports, Community and Autos Channels (4 mil imp. / month).

 

Director of Interactive Content                                   beer.com / D3 / Labatt Breweries 2000 – 2003 

Led the creative direction and managed the content for a men’s lifestyle and pop culture digital magazine.

 

AOL-Time Warner, Atlanta                 1996 – 2000               

Interactive Content Manager, TNT Network  ('99 - '00)

Managing Editor/Producer, TNT's roughcut.com ('96 - '99)

Education

I hold a Master's degree in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

My Fiction

I currently am writing my second novel. My first is doing the rounds. Read an excerpt.

And for more information, give me a ring.