Ray Prebble’s interest in language started as young boy, when he was an avid reader, but it wasn’t until he was immersed in his MA in philosophy at Canterbury University that he developed a fascination with grammar and the deep structure of language. He went on to explore linguistic conceptual structures extensively while writing his PhD thesis at Melbourne University. Ray began freelance editing in the 1980s, then worked as Copy Editor at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography in the 1990s, and also did part-time teaching at the Centre for Continuing Education. In the late 1990s he set up Macmillan and Prebble, Editorial Consultants, and edits for both local and international clients.