our people

Howard Warner

Executive Director

Howard Warner has been passionate about language and writing all his life — whether at work or at play. His main professional interest is written English in the public domain. In 2006, he founded Plain English People to promote clear functional writing in the professional workplace.

"With public documents, it's often the readers who miss out," he says.  "But if they can't understand or they misunderstand or can't even get past the first page, then the document has failed. And all the effort of writing it  is wasted. So, although I work with organisations, helping  them shape their messages into clear, easily read documents, I guess I go into bat for all readers too."  

Formerly, Howard:

• was a print journalist (reporter, feature writer, subeditor, editor)
• edited industry magazines, corporate publications, educational materials and online content
• taught English to professional and business migrants
• taught professional writing and editing to tertiary students (in Melbourne and Auckland).
  
  

Global professional groups

Howard belongs to several international professional groups, including Plain Language Association INternational (PLAIN), Clarity (which promotes plain English in law) and the New South Wales Society of Editors.  In 2010, he formed the Editing and Plain English Group (EPEG), under the umbrella of the NZ Technical Communicators Association. 

He has written and published extensively on aspects of language and writing.  

Scrabble fiend

Howard is well known in competitive Scrabble circles — as a multiple New Zealand champion, an international competitor and a founding driver of WESPA, the global Scrabble players' body.  Before discovering Scrabble, he had invented and compile word puzzles for newspapers for many years.

When he's not playing or working with words, you'll  find him out swimming, bush-walking in Auckland's Waitakere Ranges, playing piano in cafes or watching edgy arthouse movies.