Welcome to the July issue of Gatherings.
We’re pleased to be able to bring you the news that IPEd is not raising membership fees for the 23/24 financial year. We know that the rising cost of living is currently having a great impact on people’s finances, and while we can’t rule out future increases, we’re certainly doing everything we can at the moment to ensure membership costs stay the same.
If you haven’t renewed your IPEd membership yet or you’re interested in signing up, you can do both via our website.
Membership comes with a range of benefits including access to professional development workshops and training and a wealth of resources available via the member portal, plus members can benefit from our mentorship program and some exclusive discounts from our industry partners. Membership also gives you access to the IPEd Accreditation Exam – more to come very soon about the 2024 Accreditation Exam.
It has been a month of farewells and welcomes at IPEd.
Long-serving EdNSW committee member and administrative officer Susie Pilkington retired at the end of June after 14 years of service. Thank you to Susie for all you’ve contributed to IPEd and the editing profession. We wish you all the best for whatever comes next.
We’re also saying farewell to the Accessibility Initiative Working Party (AIWP) who, having completed the tasks set out in their terms of references, are now winding up. AIWP launched Books without barriers: a practical guide to inclusive publishing at the 11th IPEd conference in May. The guide was written with support from the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and is co-published by IPEd and the Australian Publishers Association. The guide has been well-received by the wider community and is available to download for free.
Thank you to the AIWP, Agata Mrva-Montoya, Maryanne Park AE, Kayt Duncan, Cathy Nicoll AE, Brenda Gurr AE and chair Julie Ganner AE for all your efforts. While we’re saying farewell to the AIWP, it’s not the end for accessibility and editing at IPEd as members of the AIWP are intending to develop further training on accessibility for editors and publishers over the coming months. Stay tuned for more information on that!
We’re also saying welcome this month to our new Communications Officer, Kirby Fenwick. Kirby comes to us with a range of experience in communications and content production, working mostly in the NFP space where she developed and published a range of written, audio and video content. She also has an Associate Degree in Professional Writing and Editing and a BA (Hons) and is an award-winning audio producer. I’m sure you’ll join me in welcoming Kirby to IPEd!