From the vice-president
by Jane Fitzpatrick AE
Editors Victoria President Susan Keogh has recently been kept occupied with her (more than) full-time job and other commitments, so this month we will make do with a vice-president’s report. It’s exciting to be contributing to the first edition of IPEd-wide newsletter.
What a difference a few weeks can make. COVID-19 has made us all feel anxious and uncertain about the future, and the measures required to slow its spread have cut a swathe through normal operations. Since I joined the Editors Victoria committee in 2018, I have discovered what a hard-working and energetic bunch of volunteers it comprises. Your committee is now thinking hard about how to continue providing services to you in this challenging time. We hope to help you stay connected and keep developing professionally.
We are planning to deliver more training and events online. We are pleased that this will give remote members the chance to participate more fully. If you have suggestions for online events or skills that could help in running them, we would welcome your involvement. In the meantime, I hope you keep well and busy.
Accreditation update
by Katie Lawry AE
It is with regret that IPEd has had to indefinitely postpone the 2020 accreditation exam. The Accreditation Board is continuing with exam development so that the exam can be rescheduled to a date within three months of the lock-downs being lifted throughout Australia and New Zealand, although it is almost impossible to propose a likely date at this point. Any editors who registered for the exam will receive full refunds, and the invitation to register will again be opened once we know that everything can go ahead.
The exam information session on 26 March was cancelled, and the exam workshop scheduled for 2 May has been indefinitely postponed. However, in the interim, I would like to encourage potential candidates to use the IPEd resources available via the website, and also consider joining the Secret Editors’ IPEd study group on Facebook for helpful study support from colleagues.
If you have any questions about the accreditation scheme or exam, please feel free to contact Editors Victoria Accreditation Board representative Katie Lawry at edvic.ab@iped-editors.org.
Katie Lawry is a freelance editor and Editors Victoria Accreditation Board representative.
Freelancers’ picnic lunch
by Susan Pierotti AE
On Thursday 12 March, taking advantage of a gloriously sunny and warm week, eight editors met in the Fitzroy Gardens for a picnic. Topics of discussion included how to edit PhD theses, the accreditation exam, the next EdVic workshop on punctuation, establishing a freelance career and building a carbonless-footprint retirement home. Two people reconnected after eight years and novice editors learned tips from more senior ones.
Attending a freelancers’ lunch is a great way to meet other members of our illustrious profession, to meet as equals and learn from each other. Do come to our next one!
Freelancers picnic lunch in Fitzroy Gardens
Photo: Susan Pierotti
Susan Pierotti is a freelance editor and Editors Victoria Freelance Affairs Officer. She can be contacted at edvic.freelanceaffairs@iped-editors.org
Training update
by Maryna Mews
As you may be aware, we have cancelled or postponed our training courses to support efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). We do recognise, however, that it is important to keep active and the next few months could be an ideal time to brush up on some professional development, particularly if you can do it from home. We are currently investigating how we can develop or adapt some courses for online delivery. You will see that there are already some interesting online events on offer from other branches, such as ‘Health and medical writing and editing: opportunities and pitfalls‘, which Editors Victoria members can attend. If you have ideas about what else you would like to see delivered, please let us know. In the meantime, stay tuned and stay healthy!
Maryna Mews is a freelance editor, indexer and writer, specialising in life writing and editing for students from ESL backgrounds. She is Editors Victoria Professional Development Officer and IPEd’s Victorian Mentoring Coordinator. She can be contacted on edvic.profdev@iped-editors.org.
Cryptic crossword No.2
(Here’s something for all you crossword enthusiasts. Answers are provided, but no peeking before completing.)
by Jane Fitzpatrick AE
ACROSS
8. Action word interrupts vital centre of crisis time for puzzler (14)
9. Starts seeing tiny elephants move branch (4)
10. Light bends force train crash (10)
11. Relish in pot was a bit hot (6)
13. Company, never lacking energy, get cut short to meet together (8)
14. Seafood undercooked in pans, with no asparagus tip (6)
15. Climb flanks of Eiger and get black eye (6)
18. Endless cold, and queen is for draining some foods (8)
20. It turns, has haphazard scan around, and capers (6)
22. Write dull opening theme, trimmed here to single line of verse (10)
23. Taste of gutless tanking (4)
24. Inbuilt facilities to ice sore runners freely (5, 9)
DOWN
1. South African cricketer in favour of hot drink? (6)
2. Odd sick morning is a rip-off (4)
3. Hostility from claims by charged entity (8)
4. Perfect hash for school leader (7)
5. Promised land lies within Americana, Andrew (6)
6. Be married to he-kitten by mistake (3, 3, 4)
7. Mightier newcomer shoots out arrowhead but gains nothing (8)
12. Very hard for first male worker in centre of Glebe (10)
14. Contact central figures in Vatican, using signs in place of speech (8)
16. Principal chamber provides space to extend (8)
17. Interpret Zelman to extract tasty morsel (7)
19. Bizarre murder not right, but has point modestly presented (6)
21. To call it off sounds marketable (6)
23. Every other tool, Roy placed on the right (4)
Jane Fitzpatrick is Vice-president of Editors Victoria, a member of Editors Victoria Professional Development subcommittee and a keen amateur cruciverbalist. Any feedback on this crossword is warmly welcomed to edvic.training1@iped-editors.org.
Etymology: tarantella
by Giovanna D’Abaco
Tarantella (n.) A late eighteenth-century peasant dance popular in Italy.
The tarantella has a shared etymology. In part the name is derived from the name of the seaport Taranto in southern Italy, but it is also popularly attributed to (or indeed believed to be a cure for) the bite of the tarantula. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com/), the bite of the tarantula caused a ‘hysterical malady characterised by extreme impulse to dance’. Once bitten, victims were seized by a heightened sensibility to music and an impulse to dance without intermission.
You may see where this etymology piece is heading. As we adjust to our new way of life in self-isolation, self-care will be a top priority. Pick some great music, turn up the volume and dance until you are exhausted. I know I will be doing that.
Giovanna D’Abaco is a freelance life science editor and member of the Editors Victoria communications subcommittee. She can be contacted on edvic.communication@iped-editors.org.
Cryptic crossword No.2 solutions
ACROSS: 1. CRUCIVERBALIST 9. STEM 10. REFRACTION 11. WASABI 13. CONVERGE 14. PRAWNS 15. SHINER 18. COLANDER 20. ANTICS 22. PENTAMETER 23. TANG 24. INNER RESOURCES
DOWN: 1. PROTEA 2. SCAM 3. AVERSION 4. PREFECT 5. CANAAN 6. TIE THE KNOT 7. STRONGER 12. ADAMANTINE 14. PHONETIC 16. HEADROOM 17. PRETZEL 19. DEMURE 21. CANCEL 23. TORY