Notice of Editors NSW Annual Branch Meeting 2023
The 2023 Editors NSW Annual Branch Meeting (ABM) will be held on Tuesday, 1 August 2023, online via Zoom at 6.45 pm for 7.00 pm start, then to 8.30 pm AEST (see Events section for more details).
The ABM offers you the opportunity to thank the outgoing Editors NSW committee for all their hard work over the past year, and to meet the new committee. It is free to all Editors NSW members, so please do come along and show your support. All branch members are encouraged to consider joining the committee-to-be (for 2023-24). Nomination information will have been emailed to members before the meeting.
The event will open with an interview with best-selling Australian fantasy and speculative fiction author Garth Nix. We will ask Garth about his relationship with speculative fiction, his new novels – and also about what it was like, as a former editor, to make the transition to being an author.
We encourage members to stay on for the ABM, which will follow directly after the conversation with Garth.
We look forward to seeing you then.
Julie Ganner
Secretary, Editors NSW, a branch of IPEd
ednsw.secretary@iped-editors.org
Join the Editors NSW committee
By Julie Ganner AE (ednsw.secretary@iped-editors.org)
It is that time of year again, when we invite you to consider joining the Editors NSW committee.
Being a member of your branch committee offers a great opportunity to gain useful skills and knowledge that can enhance your career as an editor. It is also a wonderful way to network and meet other IPEd members.
All roles are performed remotely, and committee meetings are held online, so you can join us no matter where you are. We hold 11 committee meetings a year, and the term of office is one year.
Financial Voting (Professional and Honorary Life) Members of Editors NSW can nominate directly for election to the branch committee. However, committee members do not necessarily need to be experienced editors. If you are a Non-voting (Associate, Student or Corporate) Member, we would love to hear from you too. You can be formally invited to join the committee after the election has been held if there are still places available (which there invariably are).
A form has been emailed to members that includes a full list of committee positions with a brief outline of what each entails.
If you are interested in joining us, please complete the form and email it to the returning officer Rhonda Daniels at rhdaniels@bigpond.com by 5.00 pm on Tuesday 4 July 2023.
From the committee
By Paul Anderson and Justine Dixon Cooper
The EdNSW committee met on 13 June for its monthly meeting via Zoom, with two apologies.
Minutes of the May committee meeting were accepted with no amendments and actions from previous meetings dealt with.
Written reports received included:
- branch budget commentary for June 2023
- IPEd Director’s update
- networking update
- notice of and schedule for 2023 branch ABM.
- presentations schedule for 2023.
Debra Hicks has joined the committee as our PD officer and delegate to the Standing Committee for Professional Development (SCPD). We look forward to working with Debra and to providing members with information on upcoming workshops.
Olivia Wroth, our Networking coordinator, will be standing down, that is, not renominating for the new (2023–24) committee. Thank you, Olivia (in advance), for your contribution. Consequently we are looking for a new committee member to coordinate our program of editors’ lunches series for city-based and regional editors. This is one of several committee positions that are (or will become) vacant: for example, President, Social events officer, and Zoom assistant. Please get in touch if you are interested in joining the committee in any role, or if you have any related questions.
Our annual branch meeting (ABM) is on Tuesday, 1 August, from 7.00 pm AEST. Registrations for the ABM and a call for committee nominations are currently open. The ABM is a free meeting via Zoom that is open to all branch members. Its main business is to declare the result of the branch committee election, to constitute the new committee, and to present the branch activity program and budget. This year, we will kick off the ABM with a bookish, bonus event. Australian author Garth Nix will be in conversation with Kai Jensen, our Presentations coordinator. He has read eight of Garth’s books (and counting) in preparation, so clearly Kai’s excited. We look forward to seeing as many Ed NSW members as possible on the night.
Our next speaker presentation will be on 4 July (rescheduled from 6 June). Dr Linda Nix will present “Effectively using it: How good grammar contributes to clearer writing”. In September, Louise Merrington and Tristan Viscarra Rossel will be our panellists for a discussion on “Editing work with government departments”.
Bookings remain open (until 5.00 pm on 12 July) for our annual winter dinner event on 18 July at Primi Italian in Sydney. We look forward to seeing as many of you who can attend that evening (there will be prizes) during which we will also farewell Susie Pilkington – friend, colleague, and now, our happily retired ex-Administrative officer.
There were editors’ lunches in Chatswood and Coffs Harbour in June, and one is planned in Wyong in July.
Five IPEd members joined the branch in May (two professional; two associate; and one student). EdNSW had 349 active financial members at 31 May 2023.
The next committee meeting is scheduled for 11 July.
From the committee
By Paul Anderson and Justine Dixon Cooper
The EdNSW committee met on 23 May 2023 for its monthly meeting via Zoom, with four apologies.
Minutes of the April committee meeting were accepted with no amendments and actions from previous meetings dealt with.
Written reports received included:
- Accreditation Board delegate’s report
- branch budget commentary with preliminary estimates for May 2023
- branch financial reports for March and April 2023
- IPEd Director’s update
- mentoring
- networking update
- news
- notes from informal branch presidents’ meeting (notes from our representative at this meeting on 8 May)
- presentations schedule for 2023
- schedule for 2023 branch ABM.
We are looking for a social (in-person) events officer to coordinate events such as our annual dinners and occasional drinks nights. This might best suit a member who is based in Sydney, someone who is passionate about networking and eating out.
Planning is well advanced for our annual branch meeting (ABM) on 1 August. This is a free meeting via Zoom that is open to all branch members. The committee strongly encourages you to attend – it is a great opportunity to find out more about the committee and all its work on behalf of members (and we promise to make it fun). The ABM normally only takes 30 to 40 minutes, but attendance has been low in recent years. We will kick off this year’s proceedings with an in-conversation event with best-selling Australian author (and once-an-editor) Garth Nix. Members are respectfully asked to stay online for the ABM that follows.
Leanne Manthorpe and Susan Baird were our guest co-presenters in May. They provided a comprehensive update on the Australian Government Style Manual, with instructive examples of some of the changes to content (since going live in 2020) and user feedback. Thank you, Leanne and Susan. Access to the recording of their presentation is available for online purchase (and free if you paid to attend).
It was great to see those members who were able to attend our “conference dinner” at George’s Mediterranean Bar and Grill at King St Wharf in Sydney on 3 May to mark the start of the 11th IPEd Conference.
Bookings are open for our traditional winter dinner on 18 July in Sydney. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible so we can send off Susie Pilkington (Administrative officer) in style. Susie is retiring after many years of service for IPEd and, before that, Editors NSW. The committee thanks Susie for her significant contribution and will miss her.
The next committee meeting is scheduled for 13 June.
An interview with Garth Nix – a special event for EdNSW members
As mentioned elsewhere, members have the excellent opportunity to attend a special event, via Zoom, in a fascinating prelude to our Annual Branch Meeting on Tuesday, 1 August 2023.
Renowned globetrotting Australian author Garth Nix will be doing a live interview online. Garth Nix has been a full-time writer since 2001, but has also worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve.
Garth’s books include the Old Kingdom fantasy series: Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel, Goldenhand, and Terciel and Elinor; SF novels Shade’s Children and A Confusion of Princes; fantasy novels Angel Mage; The Left-Handed Booksellers of London and sequel The Sinister Booksellers of Bath; and a Regency romance with magic, Newt’s Emerald. His novels for children include The Ragwitch; the six books of The Seventh Tower sequence; The Keys to the Kingdom series and Frogkisser!
More than six million copies of Garth’s books have been sold around the world. They have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Bookseller and others; and his work has been translated into 42 languages. He has won multiple Aurealis Awards, the ABIA Award, Ditmar Award, the Mythopoeic Award, CBCA Honour Book, and has been shortlisted for the Locus Awards, the Shirley Jackson Award and others.
Garth Nix and Snufkin.
Remember: numbers are limited due to Zoom logistics and the event is open to Editors NSW members only. Members will have received an email invitation.
Networking
Ed NSW IPEd conference dinner
By Elizabeth Beach
Nine members of Editors NSW met for dinner at George’s Mediterranean Bar and Grill at King St Wharf on 3 May 2023. It was a lovely mild night, so we were lucky enough to sit outside and enjoy the water views and take in the passing parade. It was great to catch up with old friends, and we were delighted to meet our new board representative, Justine Dixon Cooper, who joined us for the first time. We chatted about the conference, shared a sneak preview of our upcoming talks, and congratulated Julie Ganner on the Accessibility Initiative Working Party’s (AIWP) publication of Books without barriers. A good time was had by all – and we agreed to do it again at our winter dinner in July.
Editors’ lunch at Chatswood
By Olivia Wroth
An enthusiastic group of nine IPEd members gathered from all parts of Sydney (and beyond) for another editors’ lunch in Chatswood on 8 June 2023. In attendance, despite the rain, were Susan McKerihan, Susie Pilkington, Olivia Wroth, Sally Asnicar, Winsome Byrne, Lindy Ferris, Anne Reilly, Kirsty Arnold and Angela Damis. We met at The Avenue restaurant and ate, drank and made merry.
Editing is usually a solitary activity, so IPEd editors’ lunches and dinners are fabulous informal networking opportunities during which we swap business experiences and ideas. Sometimes we make valuable work contacts to share or pass on work. The next editors’ lunch will be on Thursday, 27 July at 12.00 pm, in Wyong, at Duck Duck Moose café. The train trip along the Hawkesbury River is a highlight of the route to the Central Coast, and an invitation will soon appear in your inbox.