From the president
By Margaret Trudgeon AE (edvic.president@iped-editors.org)
June was a busy month for the committee as we started actively gearing up for our upcoming Annual Branch Meeting (ABM) to be held on 20 July, where we’ll be announcing our new committee members for 2023–24. The executive members have all been busy writing reports and I’ve been working to put the new committee together. One of our long-time committee members, Marie Pietersz, has announced she is stepping down after five years as Events officer (and newsletter editor for Victoria before that). She had to face the challenge of moving from in-person events to Zoom in 2020, which was a massive change, but she was undeterred and assisted Editors Victoria to put on some impressive events, including our 50th anniversary celebration where attendees sang and danced their way through five decades of EdVic memories; speakers from the United States and Europe; and two outstanding literary panel events featuring several editors turned writers. Her final coup has been organising our speaker for the ABM, Rev. Glenn Loughrey, who will talk about Understanding The Voice. Thanks for all your hard work and all the best with your new endeavours, Marie!
To form the new committee there’s been a bit of reshuffling of current members, along with some new nominees. In the meantime, I’m pleased to welcome our newly appointed Inclusion and Access Adviser, Thirangie Jayatilake, who recently joined us for her first committee meeting.
The first week of July saw our final Zoom meeting for the 2022–23 committee. It’s been quite a ride as we have farewelled several people over the year, including Charles Houen and Marnie Hannagan. We also saw Stephanie Holt move from President to IPEd Board delegate from Victoria, and I took over as President. Thank you to all committee and subcommittee members for all their hard work over the year! Special thanks go out to Bridget Blair for juggling her Comms commitments with those of Secretary at the busiest time of the year!
Also during June, Nadine Davidoff presented her workshop on Editing Narrative Non-Fiction to three separate audiences, such was the popularity of this PD offering. Thanks to Caroline Arnoul and Bonnee Crawford for all their efforts on this. Editors Victoria also held a networking lunch at Arcadia Cafe in Fitzroy on 22 June, when 11 editors braved the chill air to join us for lunch and a chat around a large table with a rather imposing floral feature in the centre of it. (Thanks Lee for removing it for the photo!) Stephanie Holt and Susan Pierotti were there, along with some regular attendees and some fresh faces. It was great to catch up with people for a good chat while enjoying some great food.
I hope to see many of you at the ABM on 20 July at 6.30 pm (AEST). This is an important time of year for the hard-working committee, so I urge as many of you to attend as possible, to show your support and hear what we’ve been up to over the year. If you register for the ABM (as a Victorian member) you will automatically be able to stay on to hear Glenn speak about The Voice. For those who are interstate, you can book via Memnet just to see Glenn, who will be speaking from 7.30 pm to around 8.45 pm (AEST).
EdVic networking lunch at Arcadia Cafe in Fitzroy on 22 June.
New members
EdVic is pleased to welcome members who have joined or upgraded since our last newsletter.
Professional members:
Siena Barry
Barbara Evans
Emma Greville
Jane Gyngell Taylor
Ian McKinnon Cox
Associate members:
Kirby Fenwick
Jenna Myers
Linda Worland
Student/graduate members:
Catherine O’Neil
We look forward to seeing you at our workshops and events and encourage you to make the most of IPEd’s networks for news and support.
New member profile: Jenna Myers
EdVic is pleased to welcome new member, Jenna Myers.
Q: How long have you been an editor and how did your career begin?
A: I’ve been an editor for over 15 years. I started out in Seoul, South Korea where I had been working as an ESL teacher for a few years. I was ready to give up teaching, but I didn’t want to leave Seoul just yet, so my friend got me a job as a writer and an editor at the ELT publishing company she was working for.
Q: What type of editing makes up the majority of your work?
A: Currently, I mostly do medical editing, and this work also encompasses mental health and health and wellness content.
Q: What aspect of the profession do you find most challenging?
A: Personally, I don’t think editors are given enough credit for the brilliant work they do. I do believe that we are the “invisible heroes in the publishing world”.
Q: How would you like to build your skills as an editor?
A: I’m always looking to upskill and learn from others, so joining a society such as IPEd is a great opportunity to do this.
Q: What are you looking forward to about being a member?
A: I’m looking forward to getting involved in workshops or webinars when I can!