Nickolas Woods, BA (Hons), DPSI, MCIL

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  2 εργασία(ες) δημοσιεύθηκαν από: Nickolas Woods, BA (Hons), DPSI, MCIL

Πληροφορίες Επικοινωνίας

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Joined: Jan. 8, 2005, last update Oct. 20, 2009
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Γλωσσικά ζεύγη που Εργάζεστε και τιμές:

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Υπηρεσίες

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Copywriting, Editing, Interpreting, Proofreading, Research, Teaching, Transcription, Translation

Ειδικεύσεις

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Interpreting: local government, copywriting, marketing, journalism/media, commercial, travel writing, literature, history, product packaging (instructions). Basically I can turn my hand to almost anything, or I say otherwise!

Subject Areas

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Advertising, Art, Broadcast Journalism, Business General, Business Marketing, Cartography, Education, Ethnic and Cultural Studies, Film and Cinema Studies, Genealogy/Family History Research, General, Health, History, Hospitality, Humanities and Humanistic Studies, Journalism and Mass Communication, Literature, Medicine - Public Health Education and Promotion, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Radio and Television Broadcasting, Sociology, Sport and Fitness, Theatre, Tourism and Travel, Transportation, Visual and Performing Arts

Background

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PERSONAL DETAILS

NAME: Nickolas Woods

ADDRESS: Elisabethkirchstrasse 5, 10115, Berlin, Germany

TEL: 00 49 173-4735859

E-MAIL: woodswords@gmail.com

DATE OF BIRTH: 11/12/70. AGE: 38

MARITAL STATUS: Single

 
EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE

FREELANCE: Since September 2003 I have been a freelance journalist, contributing feature articles and news story ideas for the UK’s national and regional press - most notably The Sunday Telegraph, The Times Higher Education Supplement, The Journal in Newcastle and the Leicester Mercury. Since September 2004, when I relocated to Berlin, Germany, I have also written articles for Expactica (www.expatica.com), covering issues of interest to English-speaking expats in Germany, including how to become a freelancer, the cheapest and best way to learn German, gay sports opportunities and the gay Turkish scene. I regularly write for Exberliner, a monthly lifestyle magazine for English speakers in Berlin. Articles have included reports on French and Argentinean Berlin, Bollywood in Berlin, alternative therapy in the city and a jobs/survival guide. I have also written an article on the Argentinean property market for Homes Overseas Magazine and a feature on second-hand fashion in Berlin for the Easyjet magazine. I have also write the gay chapter for the Time Out Berlin city guide (2006 and 2008 to date). From September 2008 to September 2009, I was a freelance theatre / dance critic and columnist for www.paris-update.com as part of a sabbatical year in Paris.

NEWSPAPERS: From January 2000-August 2003, I was political correspondent for The Journal, Newcastle, covering local, regional, national and European issues, working from both Newcastle and Westminster. Key issues included the EU’s response to North-East unemployment, regeneration and regional devolution. In this role I covered visits from Prime Minister Tony Blair and othe key members of the Cabinet including Gordon Brown. I also covered press conferences, union and party political conferences and general and local elections. 

In addition to politics I was also the paper’s modern dance critic, and I wrote theatre, restaurant and holiday reviews and lifestyle features, mainly covering health and fitness and male grooming. For two years before joining The Journal I was a general news reporter for the Leicester Mercury, England’s fifth largest regional daily, specialising in local government. Earlier newspaper experience included work placements with the (Bournemouth) Evening Echo, Wharfedale Newspapers in Yorkshire (part of Bradford and District Newspapers) and The Stage entertainment industry weekly in London.

MAGAZINES: Before working for newspapers I reported for a range of travel industry and consumer titles for international timeshare exchange giant RCI Europe and edited the company’s staff magazine called Exchanges and distributed to workers across Europe and Israel and India. I have written features for The Big Issue magazine and The Punter, an entertainment guide distributed in the South of England. At Manchester University I wrote articles for student newspaper The Mancunion and earlier edited Bournemouth School magazine The Crusader.

DESIGN: In addition to writing, I am also trained and work as an on-screen copy-editor using Quark Xpress or InDesign/InCopy. Most recently I have worked on brochures and magazines for Berlin-based corporate publisher Kircher Burkhardt.

AUTHORSHIPS: I have recently been asked to contribute ideas and text for a range of secondary school books in the Camden Town and Portobello Road series by Diesterweg, one of the largest school book publishers in Germany.

LANGUAGE WORK EXPERIENCE

January 2005 – now: Freelance translator. German, French and (occasionally) Spanish into English, also English into French. Freelance consecutive interpreter: French to English and vice versa, also German to English.

I was the German to English translator for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Berlin Poesiefest, translating press releases about the event. I also work for Tanzplan Deutschland and the UdK. Two travel books I have translated from German into English are about Osnabrück and Oldenburg, ISBNs 3-87898-397-2 and 3-928076-14-0.

September 2004-June 2005/September 2005-June 2006: English language teacher in Berlin, Germany, organised through the British Council.

July 2004-September 2004: interpreter/ translator (French into English and vice versa) for Leicester City Council, UK.

July 2004: TEFL to Spanish secondary school pupils in Leicester, organised through Ardmore Language Schools, UK.

July 1994-July 95: passenger handling agent for Air France at Heathrow Airport. During this time I also worked as a marketing assistant for language recruitment consultancy Bilinguagroup in Mayfair, London.

July-September 1993: night porter at Le Chalet Du Mont d'Arbois, Megève, France.

PROFESSIONAL AND LANGUAGE TRAINING/ GENERAL EDUCATION

September 2008-September 2009: sabbatical year in Paris, working as an interpreter and translator French to English and vice versa. Also contributions to the Internet what's on guide for Paris www-paris-update.com.

October 2005-January 2006: conference interpreting course (German into English and vice versa) at the Tempelhof-Schöneberg Volkshochschule in Berlin.

Humboldt University Sprachenzentrum, Berlin, 2004-06, German language courses to Oberstufe level. Also a course in grammar for translators/interpreters.

October 2003 - June 2004. Diploma in Public Service Interpreting, De Montfort University, Leicester, with Spanish and German classes and refresher French

Goethe Institut, Berlin, September 2003, intensive language course

October 2003: Intensive 80-hour TEFL course by private provider i-to-i.

November 1999: I completed the National Council for the Training of Journalists National Certificate of Education.

Brockington College, Leicester, UK, September 1998 to June 1999, Spanish GSCE, A*

July 1997: sub-editing course at PMA editorial training school, London

April-July 1995: 13-week postgraduate diploma in periodical journalism at the London College of Printing

Manchester University, UK, 1991 to 1994: History/French BA (Hons), 2:2

Bournemouth School, UK, 1982 to 1989: 10 O’Levels and three A’Levels

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES

Member of the National Union of Journalists

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

Exclusive of the Year (Highly Commended), 2001 North-East Press Awards

LANGUAGES

Native English, fluent French, advanced German, intermediate Spanish

OFFICE/EDITORIAL SKILLS

Shorthand/ touch typing, Microsoft Word, Quark Xpress, InCopy, Excel, Powerpoint

INTERESTS

Politics, travel, current affairs, gymnastics, Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga

Software

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• Wordfast
• Windows XP
  DSL
  Incopy

Hardware

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Laptop, PowerBook G4

Accreditations

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Degree in French/History BA (Hons), Manchester University.
Diploma in Public Service Interpreting, local government specialism, Institute of Linguists (London).
National Certificate of Education, National Council for the Training of Journalists (London).
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (i-to-i 80-hour intensive course).
Konferenzdolmetscherkurs (Eng-Deutsch, Deutsch-Eng), Volkshochschule Berlin Tempelhof-Schöneberg.
Verchiedene Sprachkurse, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.

Membership

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National Union of Journalists (UK).