My CV

Who I am
I'm an author and qualified journalist, freelance since 1995, covering most areas but specialising in health and well-being. I can provide information readers want on issues that matter to them -- or intrigue them with new ideas and possibilities. After all, health's about more than just not being ill: laughter can have stronger effects than medical drugs and sex is a natural pain-killer.

Before I went freelance I was a feature writer at Prima, one of the UK's top-selling women's monthly magazines, and before that I was health editor at Health & Fitness magazine.

My research is based on evidence and interviews, not on press releases. And having started out as a newspaper reporter, I'm used to tight deadlines.

My books include:

Perfect Bride (Hamlyn, 2005)

Ayurveda for Beauty & Health (Southwater 2005), originally printed as Ayurvedic Beauty (Lorenz, 2002)

Reflexology & Acupressure (Hamlyn, 1999, 2001, 2003)

Eat Safely (Orion, 1998)

Erotic Massage: Body Magic (Parragon, 1997)

Stress Relief for Women (Parragon, 1997, 2001)

Eat Safely was recommended as further reading by Channel 4's Body Story series. Stress Relief for Women remained in print for more than five years. Reflexology & Acupressure has been translated into numerous other languages and sold throughout Europe, North America and Japan.

What I've been doing recently
Since August 1995 I've been a freelance, writing books and features, and occasionally teaching journalism at university. At the science journal Nature I was a member of the team that exposed an attempt to publish faked research, which led to an official investigation. I have written for newspapers (Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and Daily Mirror); for numerous magazines including Nature, Best, Men's Health, Shape, New Woman and Health & Fitness; and for websites including Channel 4.

How it all started
I began work as a reporter on London local newspapers, covering crime, politics and flower shows. Then I went off travelling around Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. I lived on freelance journalism and casual employment, including working for an Aboriginal organisation in central Australia, as a stringer for the ABC (Australia's equivalent of the BBC ) and teaching English in China.

Meanwhile, I wrote on all kinds of subjects. Some of my favourites were a story about Chinese opera (my passion at the time) and a series for the national press about the way Aboriginal groups were taking up computer use faster and more creatively than the general population.

My favourite interviewee? For Vogue: the writer Jessica Mitford, who shocked aristocratic London in the 1930s by running off to the Spanish Civil War and who gave me an interview at dawn on a trip to Sydney in her 70s.

Why I ask so many questions.
My newspaper background shapes the way I research and write. The question at the back of my mind when interviewing an official expert or reading a report is still "What am I not being told?".

An issue that interests me is: how much can we trust claims made for products, or even published research? How reliable is a study of, say, a new drug or product, when it's funded by the makers of that drug or product?

I've seen enough evidence to believe that complementary therapies can do a lot of good -- much more than we've yet discovered -- but that those on offer cover the spectrum from admirable to absolute rip-off. I've found a similar range in orthodox medicine, from breakthroughs to lethal 'remedies'. And I've learnt how to pick up clues that a claim is not all it seems.

Pieces of paper

National Council for the Training of Journalists proficiency certificate

Post-graduate diploma in journalism studies, University College Cardiff

Honours degree (2:1) in modern languages, University College London

A-levels: English, French, German

Hot topics
In the health field, I've covered everything from medical breakthroughs to fringe therapies. I'm especially interested in some topical issues:

What works, and will it work for you?

Why do so many medical studies seem to contradict each other?

Evidence-based medicine

Mind-body links: what's true, what isn't

Positive ageing

Staying well rather than getting better

Weighing up risks

Surviving food scares

But I don't like to get stuck in a rut: I've also written for the Guardian Weekend Magazine's pets page!

When not working . . .
I've spent a lot of time travelling, which has given me a broader outlook than usual. I taught English in China for two years. After travelling around Africa and Asia I moved to Australia, living on freelance journalism and working for an Aboriginal organisation.

Other skills

Fluent French, a working knowledge of Italian and German, some Chinese

Shorthand at 120wpm

Experience with several computer systems and programs including Microsoft Word and QuarkXPress

Current clean driving licence

A resourceful, flexible nature and ability to stay calm under pressure!

Things I love
Dancing, walking, poetry, gossipy meals with friends, exploring new places, my motorbike.

Anything else?
If you'd like to find out more, please contact me. I'll be glad to discuss ideas too, whether yours or mine.

More information
If you'd like to find out more, please contact me by E-mail -  I'll be glad to discuss ideas.

My Mac

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Copyright © 1997 Janet Wright
Last modified: July 2005