29/10/2019
What are the backgrounds of the publishers and editors who make the decisions about what to publish? Who are the editors who work on books, making important decisions about the ways stories are told? How can the representation of diverse voices be amplified locally?
These are the central questions for the Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellow for 2019-20. Radhiah Chowdhury, of Penguin Random House, is the 11th editorial fellow announced in this sought-after program that benefits the entire Australian book community.
Titled, It’s hard to be what you can’t see: Diversity Within Australian Publishing, the research project was chosen by a committee of the APA from a pool of eight, strong applicants. Head of the committee Tracy O’Shaughnessy says, “The 2019 Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship received an impressive array of submissions from some of Australia's most respected editors. The research projects reflected contemporary topics: data-driven publishing, the effects of globalisation and editorial practice, the role of the editor in contemporary publishing in other markets and in the digital age, visual literacy and the editor, and others."
"However, it was the timeliness of Radhiah Chowdhury's proposed work on challenging unconscious bias and developing guidelines for best-practice in working with diverse and underrepresented voices. The Committee felt that Radhiah's own lived experience was an essential component for taking on such a research project," O’Shaughnessy says.
Chowdhury says she is looking forward to talking with editors of diverse backgrounds working in the US and UK publishing sectors about their experiences, to publishers of diverse imprints, and also to diverse authors, to contribute to a conversation in Australia about responsible, ethical and diversely representative publishing. “This project is borne out of several years of personal interest and commitment to representation within the Australian publishing industry. I believe the best way to challenge our unconscious biases and improve editorial practice is with new perspectives and a constellation of lived experiences,” she says.
“The Beatrice Davis Fellowship is an incredible opportunity for personal and professional development, and I am so looking forward to fostering international networks with others who have had similar experiences as editors from marginal communities, learning from one another,” Chowdhury says.
Chief Executive of the Australian Publishers Association, Michael Gordon-Smith, says, “This is a great example of a research project that has wide and long term benefits for the whole book industry – especially authors – and we’re very pleased with the selected project. Once the research is complete, please be on the look-out through APA communications for how you can access the findings and contribute to the dialogue about the impact of editors in sharing diverse voices in books.”
The APA will be sharing updates about the research with its members over the course of 2019-2020.
The Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship has been awarded biennially since 1998. It supports a senior editor in a major research project that has significance for the Australian publishing industry. Once the research is complete, an extensive program that disseminates the findings and practically applies any outcomes or recommendations is carried out. One person receives funding to conduct the research, but the whole industry benefits.
This year, the Fellowship has been funded by the following publishers: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins Publishers Australia, Allen & Unwin, Hachette Australia, Hardie Grant Publishing, The Text Publishing Company and Walker Books Australia.