By Thirangie Jayatilake
On Thursday 5 March 2026, Editors Victoria was delighted to host a presentation by Dr Jeanine Leane, a Wiradjuri writer, poet and academic. Her work has been published across Sydney Review of Books, Overland, Cordite Poetry Review and Australian Poetry Journal, among other publications. She has written on writing otherness, literary critique and Aboriginal literature. In addition, Dr Leane was the poetry editor of Meanjin and has edited several books including Guwayu – for all times, a collection of First Nations poetry commissioned by Red Room Poetry and published by Magabala Books. Dr Leane is an associate professor at the University of Melbourne and taught creative writing and Aboriginal literature for close to a decade.
As one can see in her impressive bio, Dr Leane has a wide variety of experience in interacting with culture. In particular, she taught a subject titled “Writing identity and difference” on looking at literary representations of self and difference, and what is truly at stake when a writer writes on difference.
In this session, she began with addressing how to do a rigorous self-assessment of our own values, assumptions and cultural point of view before we begin the edit. This self-assessment should look at one’s own culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ability, socio-economic class and spirituality. In other words, intersectionality.
Dr Leane then presented several questions that editors can ask themselves about their cultural positioning and how it might impact the way they approach texts written by someone from a culture different from their own. Many participants agreed that these questions could still apply to a general edit on a text that is written by someone from a similar background.
Dr Leane noted that in Australia it is particularly important to pay attention to and respect cultural norms, including elements such as naming deceased people or using traditional knowledge. IPEd members who are interested in this topic might enjoy, when it is offered, Angie Faye Martin’s workshop on sensitivity reading for First Nations stories.
Dr Leane talked about the importance of respecting and honouring the different spaces from which authors are coming, paying careful attention to power dynamics. She concluded the presentation with some notes on things to be mindful of when editing, including stereotypes and tropes, who is being represented by whom and preserving voice.
A recording of “Challenges and approaches to editing anthologies with diverse voices” will soon be available for purchase via the IPEd shop, with discounted prices for members and concession holders.