President’s message
The EdsQ Events and Training Team is hard at work in the events mine planning the rest of our events for the year. April’s guest speaker is editor Craig Munro, who was the first Literary Editor at UQP and later Managing Editor.
Craig holds a special place in IPEd’s recent history for his involvement with the Rosanne Fitzgibbon Editorial Award, aka The Rosie. Tune in for a chat between Craig and me. (I’m frantically reading his book as homework.) Luckily it’s via Zoom as I’ll be in the Top End visiting my mum.
Our Regional Members Forum at the start of March was a great opportunity for Queensland members to chat about what they’re doing and what they want from IPEd. At the meeting, several people put up their hands to be the contacts for local subgroups (in this edition). If you are in a regional area and would like to network with other IPEd members, please let me know. With your permission I’ll contact any likely local groups that arise and put you in touch.
My own history, and that of several EdsQ committee members, is of working in the NT and feeling a bit lonely (and a bit of a fraud) as the accidental editor of an inhouse journal. Ruth Davies and I were members of the Society of Editors NT, an unincorporated collection of enthusiastic editors of varying experience who enjoyed having other people to talk to about grammar and wordy stuff. The group gave me a huge boost of confidence and connection. If any old SOENT members have joined IPEd, give us a shout.
It would be great to have a regional members chat on the IPEd Discussion Board (via MemNet) as a way to connect and maybe even arrange to meet up.
Let us know if there’s anything we can help with.
Regards
Christine Atkinson, EdsQ President
First EdsQ regional members forum
This Queensland-only forum on 3 April was well attended and lively, and sparked some wonderful ideas and initiatives. We heard that there’s widespread support for continuing the broader reach that results from using Zoom for meetings; some good things can come out of COVID-19. Regional members in the Sunshine Coast group told us that they get a lot of value in the local meeting and sharing, from both professional and interpersonal perspectives. This group meets quarterly, with Lisa Hill its coordinator.
We welcomed four EdsQ members who, during the forum, volunteered to be coordinators of their regions. A big shout-out to Cheryl Malone, Gold Coast, wordswotwork@optusnet.com.au; Paul Vander Loos, Mackay, paulsedit@gmail.com; Deborah Cook, Hervey Bay, info@debbish.com and Tonia Grundy, Toowoomba, foxtail@thegrundys.com. Contact your local coordinator to get in the loop.
We’re hoping for someone from Townsville, Cairns and Ipswich to volunteer to be a local coordinator in these centres. Lisa tells us it’s not a lot of work. To discuss, please email Christine Atkinson, edqld.president@iped-editors.org.
From time to time, the EdsQ Events Team will be communicating ideas and suggestions for local member events via the Facebook page and emails.
Cuppa catch-up
It’s time for a coffee catch-up. Don’t you agree?
For our first Brisbane ‘Cuppa catch-up’ we’re heading north to Chermside. If you’re convenient to north Brisbane or just happy to meet fellow branch members in person, then cancel your morning meetings on Wednesday 14 April and join us at 9.30am for a brew and a babble. Venue details will be emailed and posted on the EdsQ Facebook group closer to the date.
Stay connected
An issue that came out of the regional forum was a desire to stay connected. In response, your Events Team plans to increase activity on the EdsQ Facebook group, posting events and activities popping up around the state to keep you informed of professional events and social functions. This is a private group created for all of us to share ideas, ask questions and engage with our fellow members strewn across this vast state.
Please reach out to your committee members to find out who your regional coordinator is. If there currently isn’t one, consider taking on this role yourself. You can make it as onerous or as simple a position as you and the region you represent feel it needs to be. Mostly, we just want to catch up with our neighbours for a beverage from time to time.