Topaz Literary

About me

Oh, hi! My name is Lindsay Hobbs, pronouns she/her. I live in a small Canadian town with my partner and our two tabby cats, Goldie and Sylvie. I have a deep fondness for cold mornings, silver poplars, Earl Grey tea, the sound of waves, soft blankets, and the colour pink.

I came to editing via the usual channels: a love of story and language, an affinity for grammar, a wish to collaborate, and a natural tendency to pull apart the things I love to see what makes them tick.

I love books across genres, but my favourites are skewed towards sci-fi and fantasy, old-fashioned detective fiction, queer romance, and the so-called middlebrow vintage novel. I am in love with stories that paint a world with words, that make me ride or die for a character, and that meander, sprint, or climb to moments of illumination.

My education background is in English literature and visual art, and I am certified through Simon Fraser University’s professional editing program. I am continually learning, and I have further training in fiction editing, inclusive and conscious language, trauma-informed editing, and memoir editing. I am a member of Editors Canada and of more informal (but no less rewarding) editing communities.

Editing values

My personal editing values are rooted in ethics of care and collaboration. I approach editing as not merely a business transaction but as relationship- and community-building.

I believe strongly that words are not neutral; for that reason, I advocate for conscious language use. In the words of Alex Kapitan, I strive to “help language live up to its most radical potential—serving the ends of access, inclusion, and liberation, rather than maintaining oppression and the status quo.”

Topaz Literary is an inclusive space that welcomes every flavour of neurodiversity, is 2SLGBTQIA+-friendly, and champions diversity, equity, inclusion, and decolonization.

In an effort to detach from corporate monopolies, I use open source or indie-developed platforms and software when possible.

My position on artificial intelligence

I believe that AI is irredeemably unethical due to its reliance on plagiarized work, its environmental impact, its exploitative industry practices, and its inherent bias, along with a host of other reasons.

Also: There is magic in the creative process and it cannot be outsourced.

I will not use AI at any stage in the editing process, nor do I accept manuscripts that have been created with the use of generative AI. By submitting a manuscript to me you attest that it was created by a human being and that you have not used AI at any stage of the process.

Types of projects I have worked on

• speculative fiction

• books in a series

• romance

• literary fiction

• hybrid and collaborative memoirs

• academic case studies and journal articles

• practical non-fiction

• literary criticism and essays

• + one radical cookbook that I am especially proud to be a part of

Contact me:

lindsay@topazliterary.com

I live on stolen land

Topaz Literary is situated on the traditional lands of the Odawa, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Delaware First Nations, colonially called southwestern Ontario, Canada. We are all treaty people and as such share in the responsibilities for good relations, truth, reconciliation, and decolonization. Topaz Literary donates a percentage of its income monthly to Niikinaaganaa Foundation.