Tanya Izzard
@tanyaizzard.bsky.social
🏳️🌈 I'm a book indexer working on scholarly humanities titles. Other hats include being the Marketing lead for the UK Society of Indexers and my E.M. Delafield website. https://tanyaizzard.co.uk/about/tanya-izzards-links/
I was a university administrator doing a part-time PhD when my partner, then running an indie press, needed a book index. I enjoyed it so much I retrained via the @indexers.bsky.social training course and have been indexing full-time since I completed it. #IndexSky
Are you thinking about indexing as a new career direction in 2026? Is it the right fit for you? In our new Ask the Indexers blog post, our panel share how they came to indexing, and how they knew it was right for them. Current indexers - what's your origin story? #IndexSky
Ask the Indexers: what made you become an indexer?
In our first Ask the Indexers post of 2026, we ask the indexers: what initially drew you to indexing, and how did you know it was the right fit? Valeria Padalin
buff.ly
January 19, 2026 at 3:10 PM
I was a university administrator doing a part-time PhD when my partner, then running an indie press, needed a book index. I enjoyed it so much I retrained via the @indexers.bsky.social training course and have been indexing full-time since I completed it. #IndexSky
This was a great session, with some object lessons in good client communication and turning an unlikely project into a winning one. I also enjoyed talking about Charlotte Matter's excellent Feminist Substances, a niche book that took me on many journeys #IndexSky
At yesterday's Zoom Coffee Morning, twenty SI members met to discuss oddball projects – unexpected indexing requirements, niche subject areas, clients with very specific needs – and how we can adapt and adjust our working practices to deal with them. #IndexSky
January 16, 2026 at 11:02 AM
This was a great session, with some object lessons in good client communication and turning an unlikely project into a winning one. I also enjoyed talking about Charlotte Matter's excellent Feminist Substances, a niche book that took me on many journeys #IndexSky
It's always instructive to hear what other people think about your job, and the @ecrpodcasters.bsky.social episode on indexing was interesting to hear and to discuss. My blog post on indexing aimed at academic authors has more guidance and resources: tanyaizzard.co.uk/2025/11/26/i...
January 7, 2026 at 2:01 PM
It's always instructive to hear what other people think about your job, and the @ecrpodcasters.bsky.social episode on indexing was interesting to hear and to discuss. My blog post on indexing aimed at academic authors has more guidance and resources: tanyaizzard.co.uk/2025/11/26/i...
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
What makes a good book indexer? Our blog post explains what you need to work in this fascinating and varied job. Indexers come from all sorts of professional backgrounds and many work part-time alongside other jobs buff.ly/AEtzR1s
January 5, 2026 at 11:04 AM
What makes a good book indexer? Our blog post explains what you need to work in this fascinating and varied job. Indexers come from all sorts of professional backgrounds and many work part-time alongside other jobs buff.ly/AEtzR1s
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
Index in the Joy of Cooking
December 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Index in the Joy of Cooking
This morning's session was great fun. It's perhaps not surprising that so many indexers like puzzles and games - we're creators of order, we set things right, and we try to enter into the minds of our readers (or setters or opponents). I love a cryptic crossword and I'm also very partial to patience
For our last Coffee Morning of 2025 we relaxed with some festive puzzles and games, joined by our friends from @cilipmdg.bsky.social and @@the-ciep.bsky.social. @baindex.org discussed the overlap between cryptic crosswords and indexing, forms of creative writing involving synonyms and definitions.
December 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM
This morning's session was great fun. It's perhaps not surprising that so many indexers like puzzles and games - we're creators of order, we set things right, and we try to enter into the minds of our readers (or setters or opponents). I love a cryptic crossword and I'm also very partial to patience
For indexing, I can't decide between the belittling "Can't a computer/AI do that?" or the baffling "Do you have to read the whole book?", as if having to read a whole book was some sort of dire punishment #IndexSky
What’s the worst question someone can ask after you tell them your profession? For linguists, it’s definitely “how many languages do you speak?”, but I’m curious what else is happening to the rest of y’all out there?!
December 2, 2025 at 1:44 PM
For indexing, I can't decide between the belittling "Can't a computer/AI do that?" or the baffling "Do you have to read the whole book?", as if having to read a whole book was some sort of dire punishment #IndexSky
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
Indexing is a niche but immensely satisfying role: read books, get a stimulating intellectual workout, get paid. In our blog post, indexer @tanyaizzard.bsky.social discusses the backgrounds of indexers and the attributes of good ones: buff.ly/Fe6n014 #WorkInPublishingWeek
Becoming an indexer: what makes a good indexer?
This is the first of a series of posts discussing how to become an indexer. In this post, Tanya Izzard discusses the attributes of a good indexer. Background Ma
buff.ly
November 17, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Indexing is a niche but immensely satisfying role: read books, get a stimulating intellectual workout, get paid. In our blog post, indexer @tanyaizzard.bsky.social discusses the backgrounds of indexers and the attributes of good ones: buff.ly/Fe6n014 #WorkInPublishingWeek
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
It's #WorkInPublishingWeek 2025, so it's a good time to reintroduce ourselves. The Society of Indexers is the professional body for indexers in the UK and Ireland.
November 17, 2025 at 9:15 AM
It's #WorkInPublishingWeek 2025, so it's a good time to reintroduce ourselves. The Society of Indexers is the professional body for indexers in the UK and Ireland.
I saw this adaptation at the weekend - it's on until Saturday 15th November. Well worth seeing; Ellie Ward has made an excellent job of adapting the Diary into a playful and touching piece, and the performances are excellent.
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/the-di...
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/the-di...
The Diary of a Provincial Lady – The Bridge House Theatre
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I saw this adaptation at the weekend - it's on until Saturday 15th November. Well worth seeing; Ellie Ward has made an excellent job of adapting the Diary into a playful and touching piece, and the performances are excellent.
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/the-di...
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/the-di...
I like embedded indexing, I do a lot of it, and it was a pleasure to write this post demystifying the process for the SI blog.
You might have been asked to provide an embedded index for your book, or find an indexer who can create one. What is this thing called embedded indexing? Indexer @tanyaizzard.bsky.social explains how it works in our latest blog post:
What is embedded indexing?
While most indexes are still compiled from page proofs, some indexes are embedded, where the index entries are added as tags or codes to a manuscript file. In t
buff.ly
November 4, 2025 at 9:29 AM
I like embedded indexing, I do a lot of it, and it was a pleasure to write this post demystifying the process for the SI blog.
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
🧵I've posted them before, but here's my thread of horror/kids' TV double-bill cinema posters. Happy Halloween...
#halloween #cinema #graphicdesign #poster
#halloween #cinema #graphicdesign #poster
October 31, 2025 at 9:39 AM
🧵I've posted them before, but here's my thread of horror/kids' TV double-bill cinema posters. Happy Halloween...
#halloween #cinema #graphicdesign #poster
#halloween #cinema #graphicdesign #poster
For Halloween, here's a creepy E.M. Delafield short story, not available in her collected volumes of stories. A would-be psychic researcher spends a night in a house with a sinister reputation: emdelafield.org/blog-databas...
“There are no rules” by E.M. Delafield
A short story for Halloween, first published in the Daily Mail, 4 December 1939
emdelafield.org
October 31, 2025 at 10:08 AM
For Halloween, here's a creepy E.M. Delafield short story, not available in her collected volumes of stories. A would-be psychic researcher spends a night in a house with a sinister reputation: emdelafield.org/blog-databas...
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
Recalling what a deeply human process it is to create a truly useful book index — not replicable by any automated or AI system, as it requires a theory of mind, a deep understanding of the audience & their likely needs, preferred search-terms, and points of confusion.
✍️📖💡
#AmEditing #AmIndexing
✍️📖💡
#AmEditing #AmIndexing
October 19, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Recalling what a deeply human process it is to create a truly useful book index — not replicable by any automated or AI system, as it requires a theory of mind, a deep understanding of the audience & their likely needs, preferred search-terms, and points of confusion.
✍️📖💡
#AmEditing #AmIndexing
✍️📖💡
#AmEditing #AmIndexing
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
Cookbook indexing is a special skill. You must be selective - you can't index every mention of salt - but try to anticipate readers' likely search terms, which might be ingredients, methods chapter headings (which is perhaps what happened here) or recipe titles. Lots to chew on for the indexer!
Joy of Cooking is a great cookbook and reference book, but I do want to have a little talk with the person who alphabetized the index. You want a bread recipe? Look under Y for Yeast Breads, not under B for Bread or even Bread, Yeast.
October 23, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Cookbook indexing is a special skill. You must be selective - you can't index every mention of salt - but try to anticipate readers' likely search terms, which might be ingredients, methods chapter headings (which is perhaps what happened here) or recipe titles. Lots to chew on for the indexer!
Just booked my tickets for another E.M. Delafield stage production - two in one year, astonishing. A new adaptation of Diary of a Provincial Lady at Bridge House Theatre, Penge, London from 4 to 15 November.
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/the-di...
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/the-di...
The Diary of a Provincial Lady – The Bridge House Theatre
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk
October 22, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Just booked my tickets for another E.M. Delafield stage production - two in one year, astonishing. A new adaptation of Diary of a Provincial Lady at Bridge House Theatre, Penge, London from 4 to 15 November.
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/the-di...
thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/the-di...
Like Alan, I'd totally recommend presenting at @indexers.bsky.social conferences - I've learned so much doing this. Next year's call for sessions will be out before we know it, so it's worth thinking about now...
Conference feedback was enthusiastic, especially for participatory sessions. As conference presenter Alan Rutter suggested, running a conference session is a liberating experience that's really worthwhile in terms of your own learning and development, and your relationship with your fellow indexers.
October 16, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Like Alan, I'd totally recommend presenting at @indexers.bsky.social conferences - I've learned so much doing this. Next year's call for sessions will be out before we know it, so it's worth thinking about now...
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
For today's SI Coffee Morning 16 indexers met to debrief after last month's #SIConf25. This gave us a chance to hear about those sessions we didn't get to; some will be developed further into articles for @indexer.bsky.social, our members' newsletter SIdelights, and future Coffee Morning sessions.
October 16, 2025 at 12:14 PM
For today's SI Coffee Morning 16 indexers met to debrief after last month's #SIConf25. This gave us a chance to hear about those sessions we didn't get to; some will be developed further into articles for @indexer.bsky.social, our members' newsletter SIdelights, and future Coffee Morning sessions.
What I did in September: a conference, a trip to Yorkshire, indexing a book about a Tudor scholar's rough book and more: tanyaizzard.co.uk/2025/10/01/s...
September 2025 – Tanya Izzard
tanyaizzard.co.uk
October 1, 2025 at 9:09 AM
What I did in September: a conference, a trip to Yorkshire, indexing a book about a Tudor scholar's rough book and more: tanyaizzard.co.uk/2025/10/01/s...
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
We finished up Day 1 of #SIConf25 with two breakout sessions, one for newer indexers, and one for the more experienced. It's always good to discuss with other indexers how we manage our careers, develop and maintain our skills, and solve problems.
September 19, 2025 at 4:26 PM
We finished up Day 1 of #SIConf25 with two breakout sessions, one for newer indexers, and one for the more experienced. It's always good to discuss with other indexers how we manage our careers, develop and maintain our skills, and solve problems.
Leaving a foggy Sussex on my way to Birmingham for @indexers.bsky.social's #SIConf25. Reading this beautiful novel which is, appropriately, mostly set on trains.
September 19, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Leaving a foggy Sussex on my way to Birmingham for @indexers.bsky.social's #SIConf25. Reading this beautiful novel which is, appropriately, mostly set on trains.
After a bit of a gap due to indexing duties, a new E.M. Delafield blog post about her uncle, Gerard de la Pasture: emdelafield.org/blog-databas...
Gerard Gustavus Ducarel de la Pasture, EMD’s uncle
As promised on my post about the de la Pasture family, here’s a separate post about EMD’s uncle, Gerard de la Pasture. Gerard was the second child of Henri Pierre de la Pasture and his wife Ellen Craw...
emdelafield.org
September 18, 2025 at 3:06 PM
After a bit of a gap due to indexing duties, a new E.M. Delafield blog post about her uncle, Gerard de la Pasture: emdelafield.org/blog-databas...
Attended a book launch like no other at the Ironmongers' Company last night. I indexed the latest history of the Company earlier this year; last night, Penelope Hunting's book was launched by the Grenadier Guards beating the retreat at London's Guildhall, followed by supper at the Ironmongers' Hall.
September 10, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Attended a book launch like no other at the Ironmongers' Company last night. I indexed the latest history of the Company earlier this year; last night, Penelope Hunting's book was launched by the Grenadier Guards beating the retreat at London's Guildhall, followed by supper at the Ironmongers' Hall.
Reposted by Tanya Izzard
Indexing biographies can bring up some particular challenges. How do you deal with the subject of the book? Indexer W. Stephen Gilbert discusses biographical indexing approaches in our blog post
Indexing Biographies
In this post indexer W. Stephen Gilbert discusses one of the trickiest aspects of indexing biographical books: how to deal with index entries for the biographical subject, their works and activities.…
buff.ly
September 8, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Indexing biographies can bring up some particular challenges. How do you deal with the subject of the book? Indexer W. Stephen Gilbert discusses biographical indexing approaches in our blog post