About Us

Hello there! My name’s Mike Metlay (“Dr. Mike”) and on behalf of myself and my trusty factotum Diana Smethurst, I’d like to welcome you to Atomic Words.

A middle-aged man with short gray hair and a beard, wearing glasses and a gray blazer over a maroon shirt, standing in front of a purple background.

Mike Metlay

Mike Metlay is nicknamed “Dr. Mike” in the audio tech industry thanks to his Ph.D. in nuclear physics, a field he set aside in 1996 in favor of music journalism. Over the past three decades, he has written and edited content for a wide variety of audio magazines, from the MIT Computer Music Journal to Front Of House to RECORDING, the widely respected pro audio monthly on whose Editorial staff he served for 23 years.

During his tenure at RECORDING and afterwards with Atomic Words, Mike has built up relationships with dozens of audio and music tech firms, who rely on his unique combination of conversational tone, technical accuracy, and brand advocacy. He also serves as Editor for the Danish publishing house Bjooks, and has authored SYNTH GEMS 1, a renowned study of industrial design in the electronic music world.

A woman with blonde hair, glasses, and a smile, standing indoors in front of a patterned wall.

Diana Smethurst

Diana comes to Atomic Words with years of editorial experience: as Editor-In-Chief of the British magazine Vision, Copy Editor for US-based RECORDING magazine, and Technical Copy Editor for Focusrite. A Jill of all trades, she writes, proofreads, edits copy, and is also well-versed in graphic editing, desktop publishing, website design, and video editing.

Together Mike and Diana are the editing team for Danish publisher Bjooks, whose publisher relies on us for excellence in every book in the imprint. Other than the CEO, Diana is the only person who has worked on every title Bjooks has published.

Contact Us

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