President’s report
By Margaret Trudgeon AE
Happy New Year to you all! I hope everyone managed to stay safe during the recent fires across regional Victoria and were able to avoid the flooding at Wye River and Lorne. I’m heading down that way soon for some annual leave, after working through Christmas, apart from a few days off over the festive season when I enjoyed a relaxing Christmas day at a relative’s house near Yarra Glen.
Fortunately this summer I’ve only had one editing job on my desk, so I’ve been able to relax a bit in between bites and catch up on some reading. I’ve been fascinated by the series On the calculation of volume by Solvej Balle. I binge-read the first 3 books, but have just discovered there are 7 in the series, with 2 still to be written and 2 being translated from the original Danish. Looks like I’ll be waiting a while to find out what is in store for the main character, Tara Selter, and her experiences after she passes through a crack in time. It’s definitely a thought-provoking series.
The rest of the committee have also been taking a bit of a break from their duties, so there’s not much to report. However, we do have our first event of the year lined up for Thursday 5 March, when Wiradjuri poet, author and essayist Dr Jeanine Leane will share her experiences of editing anthologies in her speaker event, “Challenges and approaches to editing anthologies with diverse voices”. She will also share her tips on fostering inclusivity and cultural sensitivity.
This event has been organised by Thirangie Jayatilake, EdVic’s inclusion and access advisor, and Kylie Howard, our events officer. It promises to be an enlightening event.
Meanwhile EdVic’s PD officer, Aidan Demming, has organised a workshop for February/March with Dr Linda Nix. It’s a repeat of our popular “Grammar refresher for editors and writers” workshop to be held over 3 sessions on 20, 27 February and 6 March. It will be a great workshop for anyone considering sitting the Accreditation exam this year, or if you feel like you need to brush up on your grammar skills. We’ll be back to our usual committee duties in February, with a networking lunch on the cards for early March for those who are keen to catch up. Keep an eye on the IPEd website and comms emails for regional catch-ups too.
I wish everyone a successful and fulfilling year in 2026!