Sheila M. Averbuch

Contributor - The English Garden @ The Chelsea Magazine Company

About

I'm an author and self-taught gardener, passionate about the written word and the everyday magic of gardening. My debut novel is the middle-grade thriller Friend Me (Scholastic Press New York 2020) and I wrote the guide to finding a literary agent, Pitch Your Book: write the letter that hooks an agent on your novel (ENNclick Editions 2025). I hold degrees from Harvard and Stanford universities and a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust. Working at a florist through high school and university, I studied American History and Literature and earned my bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard before moving to Ireland. Stanford University later awarded me a full scholarship to pursue my master's degree in Journalism; I returned to Ireland as USA Today's correspondent covering The Troubles, and went on to become of the country's best-known technology journalists. Today I coach writers on how to find a literary agent via my books and masterclasses -- learn more at sheilamaverbuch.com. I also write the gardening blog, The Stopwatch Gardener, have written for The Guardian on gardening, and open my garden to the public for charity as part of Scotland's Gardens Scheme, in aid of the Advocacy for Neuroacanthocytosis Patients, an ultra-rare disease.

Country

United Kingdom

City

Greater Edinburgh Area

Industry

Writing & Editing

Skill

Creative Nonfiction Writing, Social Media Outreach, Engagement Management, Content Marketing, Online Content Creation, On-camera Interviewing, Video Podcasts, Fiction Writing, Middle grade, Garden Design, Gardening, Vegetable Gardening, Small garden, Content Development, Copywriting, Social Media, Blogging, Social Media Marketing, Marketing Communications, Newsletters

Experience

Contributor - The English Garden

The Chelsea Magazine Company

2025 - Present · 1 yr

Author

Scholastic

2019 - Present · 7 yrs

Author of debut novel FRIEND ME 2020

Garden blogger

The Stopwatch Gardener

2009-9 - Present · 17 yrs 1 mo

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Social Media Manager

Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

2016-10 - 2026-1 · 9 yrs 4 mos

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Content editor and social media manager for the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, one of the UK's top literary prizes, awarded yearly at the Borders Book Festival and sponsored by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. Working under the direction of the Prize's administrator and publicist at Stonehill Salt PR, I manage content and engagement across the Prize's social media channels.

Founder and managing director

ENNclick

1999 - 2025 · 26 yrs

Edinburgh, Scotland and Cork, Ireland

ENNclick is a content services agency with a team of experienced journalists who pioneered Ireland’s original ICT news source, the award-winning newswire ElectricNews.Net, in 1999. Since 2010 we’ve worked exclusively as content partners to ICT companies, PR agencies, and marketing directors who need the highest quality content and copywriting for marketing communications and social media. We have also partnered with the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Unlike individual freelancers, we can scale to larger content projects, including website relaunches, white papers, multichannel social media management, blog content calendars, and content for bids and ICOs. We work collaboratively with your other suppliers, including creative and design agencies, from our principal offices in Cork, Ireland and Edinburgh, UK.