The renewal form for membership has now been emailed out to all current members. Please note that you have a grace period to renew membership till 28 February, 2010. Renew early and you can go into an early bird draw to have your full membership for the year refunded. Membership for 2010 will be valid from 1 February, 2010 to 31 January, 2011.

You can also download both the application form and the renewal form here.

The year ahead

Around the dawn of the new year, I get together with a friend over coffee to map out our goals for the coming year, and review how we did with the year just gone. There are some goals that seem to get resurrected each year but generally, I accomplish about two-thirds of what I set out to achieve. It’s my big to do list. The committee has put together a to do list for the Society this year – most is not set in stone but we’ve got some great ideas. In February, two representatives from Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance will speak about the benefits of joining this group. Donna Ward, Managing Editor of Indigo literary journal, will speak in April about her experiences in setting up a forum dedicated to promoting Western Australian writers. We are planning sessions on technology, blogging, editing Indigenous work, courses available to editors, and possibly a publishing panel. We will be holding our AGM on 23 March to elect new office bearers and present the year’s reports. It’s here that you can volunteer as a committee member – don’t hold back in nominating yourself if you’d like to contribute! We have also been in discussions to decide whether to hold the national editors’ conference in Perth in 2013. We’ve had a positive response and after some more research, we’ll let you know our final thoughts and next steps. My personal view is that we must grab the opportunity to promote the profession of editing and related industries to our markets, and at the same time promote Perth, not as the most isolated city in the world, but as a vibrant, creative community that links the east coast and Asia in a vortex of inspiration.

This year the Society has representatives on several committees including WritingWA, the Writing Program Consultative Committee for ECU, and a committee for the development of Indigenous editing. We’d love you to stay involved in your Society by attending functions, networking, and giving us feedback.

Happy editing

Robin