President’s message
Hi all
The old adage of ‘if you want to make God laugh, make a plan’ came true for me this month. Days before I was due to get onto a plane, Brisbane went into a COVID lockdown. It’s a reminder of how unpredictable life is at the moment.
One thing that didn’t change was our EdsQ April speaker event via Zoom with former UQP Editor and Publishing Manager Craig Munro. I asked Craig lots of questions as part of our ‘in conversation’ chat and his passion for authors and editing was evident. If you weren’t able to tune in live, you can read the report in this month’s Gatherings or purchase the recording online.
We also hosted our first in-person Coffee Catch-up for the year on 14 April. More informal face-to-face events are planned (COVID pending), so keep an eye on your emails and the EdsQ Facebook page for information.
Following our regional members forum, we now have a new volunteer Mackay Region Coordinator in Paul Vander Loos. If you’re in the Mackay region and would like to get in touch with Paul, please contact me via edqld.president@iped-editors.org and I can pass on your details to him. Anyone else looking to form a regional group, please let me know. Or even better — jump onto IPEd’s discussion board via MemNet and start a chat with regional members in your area and in other branches.
Regards
Christine Atkinson
EdsQ President
Member social events in Queensland
by Lee Ellwood
With face-to-face gatherings back on the menu, EdsQ resumed in-person social events with a Cuppa Catch-up on Wednesday 14 April.
Five editors took a table at the Rice Café in Aspley, in Brisbane’s northern suburbs, and talked about everything from websites to folk festivals. The last of us finally left around lunchtime, from a 9.30 start. A pretty successful (re)start to editorial social networking for EdsQ.
Editors Queensland members Glenine Hamlyn, Lee Ellwood, Ian Mathieson, Ruth Davies and Patrice Shaw.
In conversation with Craig Munro, EdsQ speaker presentation hosted by Christine Atkinson
by Ian Mathieson
With his latest book Literary Lion Tamers hitting the shelves across Australia, editor and author Craig Munro sat down in conversation with EdsQ Chair Christine Atkinson to delve into the history of Australian editing and publishing. Craig recounted his experiences in getting established as an editor in the industry, the many characters he’s had the privilege of working with and others he’s found through historical research. This often untapped world behind the finessed and printed words of the famous and not-so-famous was at times humbling, hilarious and hot under the collar.
Craig has a wealth of knowledge and his easy-going storytelling manner captivated participants and took them without effort into the vast, hard and yet delicate world of the editor. We learned about the fascinating history of Australian publishing through the eyes of this award-winning biographer, author and editor. The recording of this conversation will be available to IPEd members shortly.
More to come in Brisbane
The branch’s events team (Ian Mathieson, Kayt Duncan and Lee Ellwood) will arrange Cuppa Catch-ups regularly in varying locations all over Brisbane, so any urban member should be able to get to one close to home sooner or later. And if you’re happy to travel a little further afield, any IPEd member is welcome at any Catch-up, regardless of its location.
The next Cuppa Catch-up will be on Wednesday 12 May in the western suburbs, with the venue to be announced.
Christmas in July date claimer
Save the date: Wednesday 7 July at the Ship Inn, Southbank. Their regular menu but with tinsel. Mobility accessible, dietary options available. Watch for more details in June.
Events in regional Queensland
Meanwhile, the new Regional Coordinators in Toowoomba, Gold Coast, Mackay and Hervey Bay, along with the existing Sunshine Coast subgroup, will initiate get-togethers in their areas. This is an exciting initiative to connect members across this big state and provide a ‘tribe’ to belong to.
Queensland regional members should have received an email advising the names and email addresses of the new coordinators and inviting them to get in touch if they’d like to meet colleagues based nearby. There’s no obligation to do so, but it’s clear from feedback that regional members are keen to have the contacts and networking that so easily happen in city locations.
Contacts in your area
To find out more about member socials in your area, contact:
Ian, Kayt and Lee, Brisbane — edqld.events@iped-editors.org
Lisa Hill, Sunshine Coast — edqld.sunshine@iped-editors.org
Cheryl Malone, Gold Coast — wordswotwork@optusnet.com.au
Paul Vander Loos, Mackay — paulsedit@gmail.com
Deborah Cook, Hervey Bay — info@debbish.com
Tonia Grundy, Toowoomba — foxtail@thegrundys.com