From the committee
By Carolyn Page AE
The Editors NSW Branch Committee met on 13 August 2024 via Zoom, with two apologies and one absence. Minutes of the August committee meeting were accepted with no amendments and actions from previous meetings were dealt with.
Dr Louise Merrington AE chaired the meeting. Following the election of the committee at the previous meeting, members were allocated to their new or continuing positions: Marita Smith as secretary; Russell Noakes as budget officer; Kerry Anderson and Carolyn Page AE as news writers, to work with Elisabeth Thomas in her continuing role as news editor; and Emmanuelle Botté and Jennifer Rowland as Zoom assistants. Justine Dixon Cooper, IPEd director from NSW, and Lou Merrington, NSW Accreditation Board delegate, continue as ex-officio members of the committee.The committee elected Marita Smith, Russell Noakes and Elisabeth Thomas to the branch executive. The position of branch president was not filled, and the committee agreed that the tasks will be shared among committee members in coming months.
For the next six months, committee meetings will be held every two months rather than monthly. This arrangement will be reassessed at the meeting of 11 February 2025. Committee members will keep in touch via email, and informal subcommittee meetings will be used to discuss pressing issues between formal committee meetings.
Upcoming events for September and October were confirmed. The role of professional development coordinator is yet to be filled and, in the meantime, responsibility for workshops will be shared by Jennifer Rowland and Emmanuelle Botté. Ruth Power will invite Editors NSW members to host networking events for the year ahead. Planning for the end-of-year dinner in December is underway.
Editors NSW Annual Branch Meeting 2024
By Carolyn Page AE
The Editors New South Wales Annual Branch Meeting (ABM) was held on Tuesday 6 August 2024 via Zoom, with four apologies.
President’s report (Julie Ganner AE)
Outgoing Branch President Julie Ganner paid tribute to the branch committee’s work in creating events and publishing information for members; serving on budget and other branch committees and as delegates to national committees; progressing work on mentoring and the accreditation exam; and helping to “promote the important work that editors do”.
In 10 years as an Editors NSW committee member, Julie has seen three important changes in the way we connect and learn:
- We are now part of a single direct-membership organisation for editors. When members of individual state bodies became members of IPEd, we created a stronger, more unified body to advocate for the profession. Members can now participate in both national and state-based events.
- COVID-19, and technological change, both caused and enabled members to connect more over distance. Before 2020, branch presentations and committee meetings had mostly been held as in-person events in Sydney. Editors NSW has now been able to move all its professional development and committee activities online and within easier reach of all members.
- Editors NSW urges members to remember the importance of face-to-face connection, in a profession where many work in isolation. This might mean travelling to Editors NSW biannual dinners in Sydney, attending social lunches in city and regional areas, or hosting a lunch locally.
Branch activities
Committee members reported on activities and expenditure over the past year, with an overview of plans for the next 6 to 12 months.
Presentations (Dr Kai Jensen AE)
Six speaker presentations were run in 2023–24. Two were devoted to each of three themes for professional development: access and inclusion; tools and skills for editors; and getting editing work.
Member networking (Ruth Power)
In 2023–24, Editors NSW members made 32 dinner connections across 2 events; 29 Sydney connections and 14 regional connections across 6 lunches/brunches; and 20 members attended the inaugural neurodivergent editors’ meetup online.
Workshops/Standing Committee on Professional Development (SCPD) (Marita Smith)
Editors NSW is developing a presentation/workshop program to complement topics the SCPD prioritised for 2024–25. We are working with Dr Linda Nix AE to develop a workshop on business planning for freelance editors. There will also be workshops on academic editing.
News/Communications and Style Standing Committee (CSSC) (Elisabeth Thomas)
Gatherings is now in its fourth year as IPEd’s popular transnational newsletter. Since August/September 2023, we have had more than 26 items published, several as features, including reports of professional development, networking events and branch committee meetings. The CSSC has now been wound up, following the successful completion of projects and handover of other tasks to the IPEd Communications Officer. The IPEd Board thanked the committee for all its work.
Accreditation (Dr Louise Merrington AE)
The third edition of the IPEd Standards for Editing Practice was published in March 2024 and forms the basis of IPEd’s examination for accreditation. The Accreditation Board held two series of exam preparation workshops (three per series). The most recent examination was held on 12 August 2024, with 60 candidates registered. The board is also processing applications for renewals of accreditation.
2024 Branch budget and expenditure (Russell Noakes)
Consolidated financial outcomes for 2023–24 were better than budgeted, and the branch closed the year in a strong position. In 2023–24, Editors NSW reallocated significant funds from branch reserves to support IPEd’s diversity, equity and inclusion resourcing.
Results of committee elections
Returning officer Paul Anderson announced the election of the following voting members to the new committee:
- Russell Noakes
- Elisabeth Thomas
- Marita Smith
- Emmanuelle Botté
- Jennifer Rowland
- Kerry Anderson
- Carolyn Page AE
The committee also includes ex-officio members Justine Dixon Cooper, branch director of IPEd, appointed by Editors NSW, and Dr Louise Merrington AE, NSW delegate to the Accreditation Board. As secretary, Marita invited associate member Ruth Power to join the new committee.
Q&A
IPEd website:
- Some work is underway to improve the IPEd website and the search function of the Editors Directory.
Ensuring professional development meets members’ needs:
- A recent survey of all members included questions about members’ professional development needs. A survey of editors who attended a presentation in April included questions about presentations and workshops.
Coordination of PD offerings:
- SCPD is working more closely with branches to coordinate professional development offerings.
The ABM was followed by a speaker presentation “Kill my darlings: editor and author – a trust relationship”. (Read the report in a future issue of Gatherings.)