Hi there, I’m John Stavrakos. I was born and raised in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, and I’m here for your editing and proofreading needs. I can make your manuscript, documentation, school paper, or whatever you need published clear, concise, and error-free.
I’m a proud graduate of the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. My entire professional life I have been editing all types of literature and correspondence, either as a teacher and tutor for elementary and high school students, as a technical writer for Google, Honeywell, Discount Tire, and University of Chicago, as an editor for a publishing house, or for colleagues, clients, friends, and family. For a more detailed look at my experience, please check out my LinkedIn page.
No longer wanting to work for “The Man,” I decided to open Blackhawk Editing, a place where you can get quality editing at a great price.
When I’m not hunched over a computer making edits, I’m still making use of proper English usage with my volunteer work. I work the South Asian Spelling Bee as the pronouncer, the person who reads the words, as well as the definitions, parts of speech, word origins, and sentence use. It is great seeing these little linguistic artists at work, but these Bees are serious business. The kids study hard and put in a lot of time preparing. This means I have to be on my game when I am enunciating these polysyllabic, never-to-be-used-in-a-normal-conversation words. It’s intense, but it’s also great fun.
I have further worked with the Queen’s English in its oral form as a master of ceremony for several local trivia contests, including “Downton Abbey,” Comic Con, “Harry Potter,” and most recently, “Star Wars.”
And in case you’re wondering—yes, I am a lifelong Chicago Blackhawks fan. Let’s Go Hawks!