EllWords

Who we are

Good writing. Clear connection. Real impact.

EllWords is a ‘good writing group’ of female editors and writers who help purpose-led clients win engagement, support and funding so they can change people’s lives.

Based in Melbourne/Naarm, we work with social good, research, public service and policy organisations in Australia, turning complex ideas and rough drafts into impactful, engaging writing that gets results and wins opportunities. 

• Founder and director Lee Ellwood AE is a Professional-level member of the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) in Australian and New Zealand and the UK's Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). You'll also find her in the Rachel's List freelance writer community. Lee's past work in government, cultural, university, publishing and administrative environments gives her a broad understanding of many of our clients' fields, challenges and requirements. She is an IPEd-accredited editor.
• Dr Penny Hayes AE is a skilled and experienced editor, researcher and consultant with a professional background in political studies and economics. She's a clear and engaging communicator with a particular interest in public policy, mental health and social change projects. Penny is an accredited editor and Professional member of IPEd.
• Kylie Howard LLB left a 20+ career in family law to become a freelance editor. She’s our specialist legal editor and writer, and an excellent generalist copyeditor and proofreader. Kylie is a Professional member of IPEd and working towards her accreditation.

What we do

Good writing - effective writing - gets your organisation opportunities. Opportunities to win funding, get approvals, boost engagement, win awards, influence policies, convince people. 

But when you're overwhelmed, overloaded, under pressure or under-resourced, good writing can be hard to achieve. That’s where we can help – leaving you free to focus on strategy, operations and leadership.

We focus on:

• impact and annual reports: credible, engaging demonstrations of the difference your work's making
• award and grant applications: strong pitches for recognition, funding and support that are easy to say ‘yes’ to
• content for social good: stories and articles that keep your impact visible
• research, policy and legal writing: complex ideas, actionable documents – including evaluation and plain language.

But we can work on other kinds of writing, too. And we can raid our wide network of comms connections to find you an SEO expert, freelance journalist, web designer, PR agent – whatever communications specialist you need for your message to land.

If you're writing for good, then you need good writing. And we're your good writing group.