October 2024
Vol. 5 No. 9 | ISSN: 2652-5836
In this issue, we remember Kaaren Sutcliffe AE, an active member of both IPEd and the Canberra Society of Editors. Kaaren was an enthusiastic champion of editors everywhere and a considerate and generous supporter of the IPEd Mentoring Program.
It seems fitting that our feature story this month is about the Mentoring Program. We spoke with mentee Kevina Kezabu and mentor Melanie Dankel AE to learn more about their experience – if you’ve been considering a mentorship or pondering putting your hand up to be a mentor, you’ll want to read this story.
Julie Ganner AE discusses making style choices that improve accessibility but also how to navigate competing accessibility needs. We also have stories on the three awards we currently have open for nominations and entries. Hear from previous winners of the Rosie Award, catch up on the latest news on the IPEd Student Prize and learn more about Janet Mackenzie, the person our most prestigious award, the Janet Mackenzie Medal, is named for.
The Accreditation Board (AB) has some interesting updates on the most recent accreditation exam, including feedback from those who sat the exam. If you’re planning to sit the next exam, this is required reading! We also hear from Susan Pierotti AE who is stepping down from the AB after four years of valuable service.
IPEd was at the Emerging Writers’ Festival National Writers Conference last month and Editors Victoria has a great recap of the day. We also have an event report from Carolyn Page AE about a recent Editors NSW speaker event that explored the author–editor relationship.
We learn some more about Book Fair Australia, a literary festival that celebrates stories of all genres. In celebration of Book Fair, we have a double pass to the festival to give away! Find all the information on how to enter in the story.
As Editors ANZ President Deborah Shaw AE shares in her branch report this month, the week of 16 to 23 September was te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week, and the theme was Ake ake ake – A Forever Language. Deborah has a great list of articles and resources about te reo Māori and Māori publishing. Well worth a read and a bookmark!
And finally, congratulations to Sophie Splatt, the 2023–24 Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellow, on the publication of her report “Graphic novels: Can we grow them at home? The editing and publishing of graphic novels in the US”. Sophie spent some time in the US exploring industry best practice and her report comes with a range of recommendations plus some fantastic insights into how editors can work with graphic novelists .
Download the full report from the Australian Publishers Association.
Happy reading!
- Accessibility in action: creating useful image descriptions
- Date: Thursday 17 October 2024
- Networking lunch in Summer Hill, Sydney
- Date: Friday 25 October 2024
- Developing your freelance editing business plan
- Date: Wednesday 30 October 2024
- The braid of words: Translating, editing, publishing
- Date: Wednesday 6 November 2024
- Business accounting for Aotearoa editors
- Date: Tuesday 12 November 2024
- Editing tools to boost your productivity
- Date: Thursday 14 November 2024
- Networking lunch in Moss Vale
- Date: Friday 15 November 2024
Don’t miss out on these forthcoming workshops. Bookings will open closer to the event, but pop the dates in your diary today!
- Macros for Mac (2-part workshop), with Paul Beverley and Jennifer Yankopolus
Date: 7, 21 November 2024 - True Tracks – Indigenous Copyright and IP for editors, with Terry Janke & Co
Date: 26 November 2024 - Macros for PC (2-part workshop), with Paul Beverley and Jennifer Yankopolus
Date: 27 November, 4 December 2024 - Intro to Indexing, with Sherrey Quinn
Date: 11 December 2024
When Kevina Kezabu decided to sit the 2024 accreditation exam, she knew there was one part of her editing toolkit she’d need some help with. So she turned to the IPEd Mentoring Program. Kevina was paired with Melanie Dankel AE, an editor with over 20 years of experience.
We spoke with Kevina and Melanie about their experience working together and their advice for getting the most out of a mentorship.
Editorial issues such as formatting and language can affect the accessibility of reading materials. But these are not the only key areas to consider. Some of our style choices have an impact on people with print disability too.
Editors NSW was deeply saddened to learn about the death of Kaaren Sutcliffe AE in August 2024.
Kaaren was an active member of both IPEd and the Canberra Society of Editors (CSE) – and an enthusiastic champion of editors everywhere.
Could just 500 words do justice to the person in whose honour the Institute of Professional Editors’ most prestigious award, the Janet Mackenzie Medal, has been named? Hardly, but this brief sketch below should offer some sense of the remarkable person that was Janet Mackenzie DE.
On Sunday 8 September 2024, IPEd was at the Emerging Writers’ Festival, which ran from 5 to 15 September at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. Volunteers from Editors Victoria were on hand to promote IPEd and the important role editors play.
This engaging presentation by editor Kate O’Donnell and author Jessica Dettmann was a superb lesson in editing that is “done with” rather than “done to”.
With a packed itinerary of discussion panels and workshops plus an array of bookish merchandise sure to make any book lover happy, Book Fair Australia is a literary festival that celebrates stories of all genres. From Saturday 2 November to Sunday 3 November, authors, publishers, readers and editors will gather in Sydney for what Book Fair Australia’s event manager, Alexandra Larah, describes as a “thrilling weekend fit for any book lover [or] aspiring writer”. We spoke with Alexandra to learn more about the 2024 event.
This month’s crossword is by Jane Fitzpatrick and is Halloween themed!
What kind of Style Manual user are you?
Are you a language pro, an all-round wordsmith, a rule seeker or a newcomer?
Before they started work on the current edition, the team at the Australian Government style manual dug into the wants and needs of their users. They were keen to learn about who was using the style manual and why. Their research led to the identification of these four user groups.
20 best Aotearoa New Zealand books of the 21st century
Last month we shared The Conversation’s 20 best Australian books of the 21st century. As promised, we’re now sharing a list of the 20 best Aotearoa New Zealand books of the 21st century from The Conversation. The list is stacked with excellent writers and fantastic books. And just in time for end-of-year gift giving!
Read the list on The Conversation.
