Allan Leonard is an editor, writer, and photographer.
I have particular expertise in documenting peacebuilding and community relations in Northern Ireland, through reportage and photography.
See my portfolio highlights below, and reach out to me for text and/or photo editing work at allan@mrulster.com.
I have over 20 years’ experience editing written, audio, and visual content for online and print publications, including newspapers, reports, journals, books, podcasts, and photography.
I’m currently the managing editor at Shared Future News, an online publication of peacebuilding in Northern Ireland, and have edited all of its content — 500 news and research articles, a peace process chronology, and podcasts.
In my former role at FactCheckNI, Northern Ireland’s dedicated fact-checking service, I edited 150 fact checks and explainer articles.
I am an editor of two books — What Northern Ireland Means to Me (Shared Future News, 2022) and Troubled Images: Posters and Images of the Northern Ireland Conflict (Linen Hall Library, 2001).
I was the guest editor of a special issue of Shared Space, a research journal on peace, conflict, and community relations in Northern Ireland, published by the Community Relations Council.
Most recently, I fact-checked and photo-edited the book, Perils and Prospects of a United Ireland (Lilliput Press, 2023), including sourcing imagery and securing copyright licenses.
I have written content for many publications, including Shared Future News, Slugger O’Toole, and FactCheckNI.
An example is a summary article of an event on the role of media in political and social debate across the island of Ireland.
I write reviews of non-fiction books, such as one on Reporting beyond the Problem: From Civic Journalism to Solutions Journalism.
I have also written press statements, website content, and project reports, for example on annual summits of the Forum for Cities in Transition.
Personally, my wife Beverley and I are currently writing our first book, which is about her recovery from a stroke she had at the age of 40.
At the age of 16, I founded my school’s photography club. We recorded the activities of fellow students for annual yearbooks, developing and printing photographs from black and white film. I have advanced my creative style of visual storytelling, through tutelage and expertise provided by coursework and mentors. I am a strong advocate of visual literacy.
My commissioned work appears in the following publications:
I participated as a volunteer photographer for an Art UK project that documented public sculptures, for which I contributed images for 44 artworks in Northern Ireland, which appears as an online resource.
My personal photography projects include one about coping with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Professionally, I serve as a trustee at the Northern Ireland photography charity, Belfast Exposed.
Allan became close to indispensable in overseeing the latter stages of preparing the Perils and Prospects of a United Ireland book for publication – from a detailed and meticulous reading and fact-checking of the manuscript, to creating maps, to finding appropriate photographs and visual art, often his own work.
Allan provided incredible editing for some of my work. He was professional and prompt with all requests, going above and beyond what he was asked to do. I cannot recommend his services highly enough.
