About
Nina Cook:
Academic Editor and Language Specialist
I offer thoughtful editing, translation, and writing support for academics, researchers, and writers working in English.
Welcome to ESOL edit. I'm Nina: founder, linguist, editor, and translator. Clients come to me when they need English that feels polished, natural, and unmistakably authoritative.
My background combines linguistics, psychology, modern languages, and years of teaching and editorial work. While supporting postgraduate researchers and professors in Spain, I saw how often brilliant ideas were being held back by language friction rather than lack of substance.
That insight led me to found ESOL edit in 2019. Since then, I have built a reputation for meticulous editing, thoughtful collaboration, and a rare ability to strengthen clarity, logic, and elegance without flattening the writer's voice.
Credentials & expertise
Qualified linguist
Postgraduate training in linguistics, modern languages, and TESOL, with a background in psychology.
Editorial specialist
Extensive experience proofreading, copyediting, and substantive editing for academic, professional, and creative writing, as founder of ESOL edit.
Literary translator
Trusted by a published Spanish novelist to translate his work into English, with full creative licence to shape it for an English-speaking readership.
Professional copywriter
Copywriting and brand naming for premium agencies and luxury real estate clients in Dubai, New York, Milan, and beyond.
My approach
For me, good writing, editing, and translation all begin with careful reading. I look closely not only at what a text says, but at what it is trying to do: the argument it is building, the tone it needs to strike, the reader it needs to reach, and the voice that gives it life.
My work is precise, thoughtful, and deeply attentive, whether I am editing an academic thesis, translating fiction, shaping website copy, or naming new property developments. I care about clarity, rhythm, and structure, but also about preserving the spirit and individuality behind the work.
I bring close linguistic judgement, editorial sensitivity, and a strong sense of integrity to every project. This work is not just correction or polish. It is perceptive, human work that respects both the writing and the person behind it.
My story
My love of language began somewhere between Oxfordshire and Auckland. In the early nineties, my family and I moved from England to New Zealand, where I grew up with a sharp ear for English and a lasting fascination with how language carries intention, culture, and identity.
I went on to specialise in linguistics, psychology, and modern languages, completing my postgraduate studies with distinction. A scholarship later brought me to Spain, where I worked as a native English-speaking language assistant in bilingual primary and secondary schools. I then taught in private language academies in Andalusia, working with ESL students of all ages and levels.
In 2019, I transitioned from teaching to working more closely with the written word, establishing myself as an academic editor and Spanish-to-English translator. Since then, I have worked primarily with postgraduates, researchers, professors, and academic authors, helping them refine complex ideas into clear, fluent English ready for publication.
Today, I am based in Madrid. My work also extends into commercial and creative fields, including copywriting for luxury brands and literary translation. My aim is simple: to help words, ideas, and intentions find their truest and most powerful form.
THE NEXT STEP
When the work matters, the words matter. Tell me what you’re writing... and what you want it to become.
Nina Cook
Editor & founder, ESOL edit