Occasional Series on Australian Editors

Occasional Series Project Update – November 2009

The Occasional Series archival and publishing project has been underway since November 2004. The principal aim of the project is to raise the profile of Australian editors and the editing profession. The concept for the Occasional Series was initially sparked by One of the First and One of the Finest, commissioned by the then President of the Society of Editors (Victoria), Lisa Berryman and published by the Society of Editors (Victoria) in 1991.

In 2005 at the national editors' conference in Melbourne, the Occasional Series working group hosted and recorded a panel session 'Some of the Finest: Honorary Life Members'. Interviews with Honorary Life Members were also facilitated and recorded at the conference. The result of this foundation work was the first volume in the series Editors in Conversation (Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2007). Honorary Life Members of state and territory societies of editors profiled in this publication included Sheila Allison, Pamela Ball, Robyn Colman, Lee White, Beryl Hill, Wendy Sutherland, Renée Otmar and Loma Snooks. Editors in Conversation was launched by Gina Mercer at the third IPEd conference in Hobart in 2007.

During 2007 and 2008, a second round of conversations were recorded with Honorary Life Members, including Basil Walby and Nick Hudson (Victoria); Barbara Ker Wilson (NSW and Queensland) and Janette Whelan (Queensland); Colin Jevons and Teresa Pitt (Victoria); and Ruth Dixon and Jackie Yowell (Victoria). This material was published in Editors in Conversation 2 (Society of Editors Victoria, 2009). An abridged version of a presentation by Julie Watts (former Executive Publisher, Penguin Books Australia) to the Victorian Society of Editors, outlining her role in working with Li Cunxin to publish Mao's Last Dancer - three books and a film, also features. Editors in Conversation 2 was launched in 2009 by Pamela Ball in Adelaide at the 4th IPEd conference and Bryony Cosgrove in Melbourne.

In November 2009 the working group deposited the Occasional Series print and digital archives with the Australian Manuscripts collection at the State Library of Victoria. The archives can be accessed and viewed by appointment in the Heritage Collections Reading Room, or in some instances in the Australian Manuscripts Reading Room. Specific enquiries regarding the Occasional Series on Australian Editors archives should be directed to the Manuscripts Librarian, State Library of Victoria.

In November 2009 Kerry Biram, Diane Brown (convenor) and Jenny Craig were presented with Outstanding Service Awards for their significant contribution to the Occasional Series project by the Society's Victorian President, Melanie Dankel.

Outgoing members of the 2009 Occasional Series working group. Left to right, Kerry Biram, Jenny Craig, Diane Brown (convenor), Wendy Owen

Outgoing members of the 2009 Occasional Series working group.
Left to right: Kerry Biram, Jenny Craig, Diane Brown (convenor), Wendy Owen